Pirates of the Alpha Quadrant
by Jarkota
Summary: One is a Starfleet officer. The other is a notorious pirate. Can their love survive when duty and emotion take separate paths?
1. A Pirate's Life For Me

_Pirates of the Alpha Quadrant:_

_A Pirate's Life For Me_  
by

Jarkota

Author's Note:

This is my attempt at a _Kim Possible_/_Star Trek_ fusion, and I hope you like it. If this goes over well, I think I might have one or two more adventures in mind for this universe. I own no characters appearing in _Star Trek_ or _Kim Possible_, though any original characters are mine (although some are heavily influenced by classical literature; see if you can guess which ones). Also, some cameos are made by a handful of characters from a New Zealand television show called _The Tribe_; I obviously don't own those, either. As if the title wasn't enough of a hint, this fic was inspired by the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ trilogy, though I'll _try_ to keep the similarities to a minimum. Finally, I'd like to thank DigiRanma and Classic Cowboy for their continued help and support with my stories, Skeeve for being kind enough to beta-read this, and Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki, for providing me with a fountain of information.

_Captain's Personal Log – Stardate 56873.2. This will be my first log entry under my new rank. The effects of the attack by Shinzon and his Reman rebels are still being felt. It has taken Starfleet weeks to get everything sorted out, and _Enterprise _is still undergoing repairs. Captain Picard seems to have a penchant for getting his ships trashed. My promotion came as something of a surprise, but someone apparently thought I deserved it for _some _reason. I am to report to Admiral Janeway tomorrow morning to officially receive my rank and my first assignment. I'll probably just be relegated to an old _Excelsior_- or _Oberth_-class ship and told to study some nebula or something, but I don't care. I'm finally getting to command my own ship. I just wish...I just wish _she _could be here with me._

Ron Stoppable shut down his log and lay back on the bed in the quarters he'd been assigned while at Starfleet Command. Earlier that week, he had been recalled from duty as First Officer on the _U.S.S. Hermes_ and informed that he had been promoted to Captain, his dream since he was a child. _And at only twenty-eight, too. All these wars and conflicts we've been having have killed the older officers, I guess,_ he thought idly.

He reached over and picked up a padd he'd looked over a dozen times in the last few hours alone – his choices for his crew. 'Captain's Prerogative' allowed him to pick and choose who he wanted to serve under him, and he made full use of that power. He didn't even know what class of ship he'd be getting yet, but he knew who he wanted to crew it. Most of them he knew from the Academy; old classmates who'd not managed to make a name for themselves, but whose capabilities were quite well-known to the young captain. He ran over the list, though he'd long since committed it to memory, and another part of his brain idly wondered what was becoming of the most important person in his life.

Kim Possible sat in her command chair aboard the Klingon _Vor'cha_-class cruiser _Chimaera_, staring out at the tumultuous area of space known as the Briar Patch. Her small-yet-powerful pirate fleet had been taking refuge in the Patch for nearly a month. S_tealing from the Klingon Empire doesn't exactly make you the most loved person in the galaxy,_ she thought, _but I'd say it was worth it._

Thanks to certain contacts and information she had recently acquired, she was able to infiltrate Klingon repair yards orbiting three separate worlds and 'acquire' the vessels she needed. _After those blasted Ferengi impounded my ship, I was in sore need of firepower. But this...this is more than I could have ever hoped for._ She tapped a command into the arm of her chair and brought up a status display for the other ships she now commanded; two _K'Vort_-class Birds-of-Prey, named the _Gorgon_ and _Hydra_, and a pair of reconditioned _K't'inga_-class battle cruisers, _Basilisk_ and _Manticore_. _With this arsenal, virtually any treasure in the galaxy is within my reach. And those few that aren't...well, I guess that'll be time to prove that I _can _do anything._ She frowned inwardly. _Well, except get through the Academy..._

Kim was broken out of her reverie by a harsh, yet feminine voice. It was her first mate, Sheila Goh. The green-skinned, raven-haired woman was human, but her parents had tampered with her genetic code to try and produce a 'perfect being' despite the Federation's laws against such things. When their work had been discovered, mostly due to Sheila's odd skin pigmentation, they had fled Federation space and taken up residence on Qo'noS while Sheila was still an infant.

Growing up on the Klingon homeworld had a profound effect on her; she developed a muscular build and forceful personality, and had impressed the Klingons in her neighborhood to the extent that one of those neighbors, Byrkal, adopted her into his House upon the death of her parents. Having no children of his own, Sheila, by now having adopted the moniker 'Shego' as it sounded a little more intimidating, was well-loved by her new father, and as such was given his armor, _bat'leth_, and _D'k tagh_ upon his death, and she was never to be found parted from these items. Even as she stood at the console before her, the triple-bladed knife was in a sheath on her thigh and the massive crescent-shaped sword was strapped to her armor. She tapped in a few commands on the board before turning to face her commanding officer.

"Captain, we're receiving a transmission from _Manticore_." That was the ship farthest out in the fleet, close enough to the edge of the Briar Patch to pick up transmissions from outside but far enough in to remain undetected. "They say that the Klingon ships are starting to leave the area. Either they aren't crazy enough to follow us in here, or they don't think _we_ were crazy enough to come in here in the first place."

Kim grinned. "This is the break we've been looking for; send a reply to Fei Wu and tell him to keep _Manticore_ where it is until every last ship, Klingon or otherwise, in the area has left. Tell all ships to go to Condition Yellow and prepare for departure. I want engines, shields, weapons, and cloaking devices all on standby in case we're dealing with Klingons that are more devious than usual."

"Aye, Captain." The olive-hued woman busily punched more commands into the console.

"With all due respect, Captain, you might want to look into hiring more crew members. Two on the bridge and a dozen scattered over the rest of the ship does _not_ make us a force to be reckoned with."

"First of all, Shego, I keep telling you to drop the 'Captain' bit. Call me Kim. Second, we can't exactly put out ads for recruitment into a pirate crew. We've done pretty well just to gather up these mercenaries and ex-Maquis. I'll try to do _something_ about the crew situation, but until then we'll just have to run the ships as we are."

Shego sighed. "Very well, Cap..._Kim_. But I _did_ warn you about slaving so many systems together in these control interfaces. The Klingons have much to be admired for, but engineering prowess _isn't_ one of them."

Kim stood up, straightened the black coverall she wore, and strode over to the helm station, where she began entering the commands to set their course out of the Briar Patch so they could leave as soon as the path was clear. "Noted and logged as usual, Shego. When you're done there, get to weapons control. If this is a feint, we may have to shoot our way out."

Shego smiled. _That devil-may-care attitude will get you in trouble one day, Pumpkin, but I'll _always _be there to get you out._ She silently cursed the man who had captured the fiery redhead's heart. _That Starfleet _petaQ _is going to hurt her. I can feel it. I just hope she can realize it before it's too late._

Kim and Shego had first met on Qo'noS. Kim had just gotten into small-time smuggling in addition to legit cargo runs and was enjoying a few drinks in a tavern before heading out to pick up her next delivery. Shego was also present that evening, and several inebriated male Klingons were attempting to proposition her with varying sums of money. The green-skinned warrior took exception to being treated like a common prostitute and decided to fight back. As skilled as she was, though, the odds were eight to one and the Klingons started to overwhelm her after a few minutes.

Until a black-garbed tornado of red-haired fury interjected itself into the fight. Neither woman said a word to each other until four of their adversaries were unconscious and the others decided that it would be best to leave with their skulls intact. The females sat back down at the bar and shared some drinks, and Shego was instantly taken with the freighter pilot. When Kim asked if she'd like to sign on and be her crew, the older woman found it impossible to refuse her.

_Her strength continues to surprise me,_ Shego thought as she powered up the _Chimaera_'s defensive systems. _She is the perfect mate, for certain, but there is more to it than that. It pains me that I can't be with her as long as she's infatuated with that boy. I'll let her have him if that's what makes her happy for the time being, but he is _going _to let her fall one day, and when he does, _I'll _be there to catch her._

Ron stared bleakly across the desk at Admiral Kathryn Janeway, unable to believe what she'd just told him. "Captain Stoppable, are you alright?"

"Uh, yes sir..er, ma'am. I'm fine," he lied. "It's just...I mean, this is my _first_ assignment and..." It was as good a cover as any, he supposed. _Better that she _doesn't _know the truth_.

Janeway smirked. "I understand. Going after the one they call the 'Pirate Queen' isn't a job _I_ would relish either, but Kim Possible _has_ to be brought in. She's been raiding colonies on the Cardassian border for years now, as well as hijacking cargo from Ferengi and Orion ships."

"Forgive me, Admiral, but why should Starfleet get involved when it's mostly the _Cardassians_ she's stealing from?" _Maybe I can _talk _my way out of this. I do _not _want to go after Kim. I'm not sure I _could _go after Kim._

Janeway stood up and turned her back to Ron, staring out the large window behind her chair. "Normally, we _wouldn't_ get involved. In fact, and what I'm telling you is _not_ to leave this room, we had been turning a blind eye to her actions because they were keeping the Cardassians busy, and everything that kept them from massing their firepower into another strong military was something we saw as a good thing. But her latest move has _forced_ us to actively step in."

_I've got a _bad _feeling about this._ "What move?"

Janeway handed him a padd. "We're still not sure how, but she stole five battleships from Klingon shipyards near the border about a month ago. The Klingons have given up looking for her, but her tactics in her raids on the Cardassians and the Orions have been quite brutal, and we cannot ignore the threat she could pose with that kind of arsenal at her disposal."

"But surely you have more experienced people to track her. I mean, what about Captain Riker on the _Titan_? And didn't Starfleet grant Commander Chakotay a pardon _and_ command of _Voyager_?"

"They're both fine officers, but you have something they don't."

"What's that?" _Oh, please, don't let her know about me and Kim..._

The admiral sat back down. "I've read your file. You and Possible grew up together, went to school together and even attended the Academy together until she flunked out of her classes. I believe that if anyone could know how she thinks and where she might go, it would be you."

_Lady, you don't know just _how _right you are._ "But, what if she doesn't trust me?"

"That's a risk we'll have to take. I'd rather bring her _and_ her crew in alive and get those ships back to the Klingons intact, so use those diplomacy skills you got such high marks for to their fullest. You're scheduled to disembark in three days. I've taken the liberty of making reccomendations for your crew." She started to slide another padd towards him, but he stopped her.

"As soon as I heard about the promotion, Admiral, I knew who I wanted as my crew." He handed her his own padd.

"These are some..._unusual_ choices, Mr. Stoppable," she said, reading over the list of names. "Half of them barely graduated the Academy, and they all have marks on their records for disciplinary actions leveled against them."

"That may be, Admiral, but I know these people. We were at the Academy together through thick and thin. I know what they're capable of, and their records will probably _also_ show commendations by their superiors for ingenuity. They're geniuses, every single one of them. Just because they don't behave like some people _think_ they should doesn't make them bad officers. You didn't have a crew much different than this in the Delta Quadrant, and almost every single one of them ended up with Starfleet commissions and have been fine officers ever since. Give me a chance with these people, and I'll _show_ you what they're capable of." He then realized how terse he was getting and softened his tone, blushing slightly. "Um, that is, if you think it's wise, Admiral."

The older woman smiled. "You're the captain; you can have pretty much whoever you want on your crew. And you're right; most would have said that the Maquis I integrated into _Voyager_'s crew wouldn't have lasted, but those that survived the trip home ended up as better people than anyone thought they could have. Okay; you've got your crew. But I _would_ like you to take one officer from my list along with you."

"Who?"

"One of my crewmembers from _Voyager_. She just got her commission from Starfleet a couple of months ago and I've been looking for an assignment to give her. She'll be along as an observer and tactical advisor. I think you'll find her very..._efficient_."

Kim sat at the helm, staring out of the _Chimaera_'s main viewscreen at the elongated lines that would normally be pinpoints of light were they not travelling at Warp 7. As soon as they had left the Briar Patch, Kim had ordered all ships to set course for the Delta Aeridon system, outside territory claimed by any of the powers of the Alpha Quadrant in what people referred to as 'Wild Space' when they were being kind and 'No Man's Land' when they weren't. The fifth planet, officially listed as Delta Aeridon 5 but called 'Liberty' by the residents and those that chose to visit, was a dry, desert world, but the only one in the system remotely capable of supporting life.

"Delta Aeridon," Shego said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the bridge since leaving Federation space behind. "You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Kim smiled. "Give the place _some_ credit, Shego. We've got a lot of friends there and they can help us hide indefinitely if we have to, but I don't think we'll have to. Not if this contact is right, anyway."

"Yeah; a hidden cache of latinum in the Neutral Zone, supposedly unknown to all but a few, just _waiting_ to be had. Sounds _real_ reliable to me." The green-skinned woman rolled her eyes; Kim couldn't see it, but she knew it had happened.

"I set this up through Quark, and after last time, he _knows_ better than to cross me."

"I suppose that's true enough. You _did_ give him quite the beating after he caused you to lose the _Impossible Dream_ to the Ferengi Commerce Authority. Though why you were so attached to that ship I'll _never_ know."

Kim scowled. "It may have been a beat-up, rusty old Bolian freighter, but it was _my_ beat-up, rusty old Bolian freighter. I started saving for that ship when I was _ten_, and when I left the Academy, it was pretty much the only home I had left. You know what it's like to lose your parents, Shego; after Mom and Dad died, that ship and Ron were pretty much all I had left." She sighed. "I wonder what he's doing now..."

At that moment, a display appeared on Shego's console. "Incoming transmission; encrypted for your access code."

"Transfer it to my console." When the encrypted message appeared on her display, she punched in her access code and watched as a new image filled the viewscreen. "Wade! Haven't heard from _you_ in a while! Still working for that Bajoran shipping company?"

"No," her old friend said, "I've gone freelance. I used some of our old contacts to help me get set up as an information broker. That's how I found out..." He took a deep breath. "Kim, taking those ships from the Klingons was a mistake. Starfleet has sent someone after you."

"We've outrun the fastest ships in the galaxy and outmaneuvered the brightest captains. I'm not worried."

"You should be. Kim...they're sending _Ron_ after you."

Kim's heart sank. "R-Ron? But...no, that's not true! He _wouldn't_ accept that assignment!"

"He would if he didn't want anyone to find out how close you two _really_ are. Look, I don't know what's going on here, but he _won't_ be able to just say he couldn't find you, or that you got away. His crew would know better and would tell Starfleet as much. If he _has_ accepted this...he's going to find you, and he's going to bring you in."

Kim could barely hold back her tears. "Th-thanks for telling me, Wade. I'll...I'll be in touch." She cut the transmission off and stood up from the console. "Shego...you have the bridge." Without another word, she crossed the room and stepped into the turbolift.

Ron sat in the right-hand seat of the shuttlecraft that was assigned to ferry him to his ship. They could have just used the transporters, but it was a tradition dating back to seafaring days before transporters when the captain, by necessity, had to physically step from the dock onto his vessel. It was one of the few rituals that starship captains didn't mind undergoing.

"So," the shuttle pilot said, "have you seen the ship yet?"

Ron shook his head. "I kept meaning to, but I had some...people I needed to get ahold of."

"Did you get to talk to them?"

"No. She..I mean, they didn't receive my messages."

"I'm sure you can speak to her..._them_ when you get back," the pilot said with a wry grin.

_Doubt it,_ Ron thought, but replied with a simple "Maybe."

There was silence for a moment, then they cleared the planet's atmosphere and Ron saw the hulking form of _Starbase One_ in front of them. As they approached the massive doors, Ron saw that they were already open and the shimmering blue containment field was in place. The shuttle pilot keyed his comm system.

"Command Station, this is shuttlecraft _El Dorado._ Code Clearance Blue. We're starting our approach; request deactivation of the security shield."

The controller's voice came over the speaker. "El Dorado, _deactivation of the shield will commence when we have confirmation of your code transmission. Stand by_." A few more moments went by, and the voice come on again. "El Dorado, _you are cleared to deliver_ _Captain Stoppable to_ U.S.S. Reliant, _NCC-1864-Alpha_."

"Thank you, Command." He shut off the comm. "I was up here yesterday to deliver some new crewmembers to the _Agamemnon_ and got a look at your ship. She's a _real_ beauty."

_Not as beautiful as who she's to be hunting, I'd bet,_ he thought, instantly regretting it. They passed through the gap left by the energy field, which crackled back to life behind them. They passed by several ships in the docking facility, some Ron recognized – like _Voyager_ – and some he didn't. As they cleared the form of the _Sovereign_-class starship _U.S.S. Archangel, _Ron's eyes went wide.

"I _told_ you she was a beauty," the pilot said, smirking.

Before Ron's eyes was a brand-new _Prometheus_-class starship. He read the name and registry number over and over again, comparing them to the data on his padd. But there was no denying it; this was _his_ ship. "I've never seen one up close..."

"Few people have. Starfleet only has three in service right now; the prototype, _Corsair_, and _Reliant_. There are others planned, but they haven't started construction yet. The admiralty must think highly of you to give you one of these for your first command."

"Yeah; I guess." Ron replied. _They're giving me this much firepower because they know Kim _won't _allow herself to be taken alive, but they don't _care_. All they want is to stay on good terms with the Klingons. Am _I _the only one in the fleet with a heart anymore?_

Before Ron knew it, they were approaching _Reliant_'s shuttle bay. Through the front viewer, he saw the doors open, another shimmering blue force field beyond it. The pilot tapped a command into his console, and the shields of both shuttle and landing bay aligned perfectly to allow one to pass through the other. The smaller craft settled down inside the starship and powered down her systems.

In the launch control room at the far end of the shuttle bay, the ensign on duty touched a button on his comm panel. "Inform the commander that Captain Stoppable's shuttle has arrived."

When he stepped out of the shuttle, Ron found his pale-skinned Vulcan chief of security, Lieutenant Commander Sovak, waiting for him. Sovak was a rarity among Vulcans, as he completely rejected the teachings of Surak. It more or less guaranteed that he could never return to Vulcan, but he found that, in all honesty, he did not care and found Starfleet a much more fulfilling pursuit than the _Kohlinar_. As usual, Sovak wore his jet-black hair down to his shoulders, tied into a loose ponytail by two elastic bands. Were it not for his ears and facial features, his mannerisms would have one believe it was human. "Welcome aboard, Captain."

"Sovak," Ron said, "we've known each other since Freshman year. You can call me Ron."

"Whatever you say, sir. May I show you to the bridge?"

Ron smiled weakly. "Might as well. I'm not familiar with this class of ship."

"Few are," Sovak replied as they stepped out into the corridor. "Even _I_ have to be impressed by what they've managed to pack into a ship this size."

Ron concentrated on small talk so that he wouldn't have to think about Kim any more than necessary until he absolutely had to. "I haven't looked over the specs yet. What armament does she carry?"

"_Reliant_ has been modified for our mission and carries more firepower than a normal _Prometheus_-class ship would. She's got fourteen standard phaser banks, two pulse phaser cannons, a pair of Romulan disruptor cannons that were, as they put it, 'salvaged' from a wrecked warbird during the Dominion War, six torpedo launchers, full complements of photon and quantum torpedoes, several layers of ablative armor plating over the entire hull, and adaptive shielding enhanced with Borg technology. In addition, our combat effectiveness can be tripled by the use of multi-vector assault mode."

"That's a lot of weaponry for one ship."

"We're going up _against_ a lot of weaponry. Even the old _K't'inga_-class cruisers have been updated with newer weapons and shields; it was a necessity during the Dominion War. Cheaper and quicker than building new ships, anyway."

"What about our engines?" They stepped into a turbolift. "Bridge."

"The impulse drive has been modified to give us an overall fuel efficiency rating of ninety-eight-point-four-one-five percent, and the warp core has been outfitted with new equipment derived from Delta Quadrant technology brought back by _Voyager_ to give _Reliant_ a maximum speed of Warp Nine-point-nine-nine-three, with a sustainable speed of Warp Nine-point-nine-five-five"

Ron whistled. "Impressive."

"Mr. Flint has already said that he can probably increase those numbers by several decimals."

"Sounds like Sam to me. Why did they name her _Reliant_? Isn't it kind of late for that sort of thing?"

"The history buffs at Command probably thought it was time to have _some_ sort of memorial to the lives of the original _Reliant_'s crew. At least we didn't get stuck with a name like _Mona Lisa._" The turbolift stopped, and opened onto the ship's rather spacious-looking bridge.

A scrawny-looking blond-haired man stood up from the center seat and snapped to attention, his hands behind his back. "Captain on the bridge!"

Ron shook his head. "Josh, at ease." When his old friend had relaxed, he said, "Even as a Commander, you're still the same old Mankey." His tone turned grave. "I suppose you know what our mission is?"

Josh nodded. "I don't like it any more than you probably do. More than anyone _else_ does. I mean...damnit, Ron, we were _all_ friends at the Academy. Kim was like a sister to us. And she hasn't committed any crimes against the Federation. This doesn't make _sense!_"

"It does if the Federation cares about keeping good relations with the Klingons. I don't want them as enemies either, but there _has_ to be another way than turning in my...my best friend."

The taller man out a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, you don't have to hide it. Everyone on board who knew us at the Academy knows how you two were."

"No hard feelings? I mean, I know you had your eye on her."

"At first there were, but I got over it. Realized you two were made for each other." He checked the chronometer on one of the aft displays. "We're due to depart in two hours; would you like to rest in your ready room until then?"

"No; no, I've got something I need to do before we leave spacedock." He sat down in the command chair and looked up at his Operations officer, the dark-haired Lieutenant Junior Grade Carmen Dyr, and Helmsman and Second Officer, Lieutenant Felix Renton. "How're those legs working out, Felix?"

"Just fine, Captain. The new micro-circuits they developed make them just as responsive as they used to be."

Ron smiled. When they were children, Felix was in a hovercraft accident that had rendered his legs useless and he was bound to a hoverchair for years. He joined Starfleet's Diplomatic Corp, but when they saw his aptitude for piloting in the simulators during his downtime periods, they offered to switch him over to Command, and the motivator implants and relay circuits to essentially reconstruct his legs were part of the package. "Glad to hear it, man. Just wish it hadn't taken so long."

"It was more pride on my part than anything else. Wanted to prove that I could be useful even if I couldn't walk. But when they said I could easily make Captain if I transferred..."

"No need to explain further. This chair _does_ have a lot of appeal." He looked over at Josh, now sitting in the chair to the right of his own. "Is the rest of the crew on board?" His First Officer nodded. "Good." Ron punched a button on his chair arm. "All hands, this is the Captain. In less than two hours, we will be leaving Spacedock. You have until then to get your affairs settled." He was going to end it there, then thought better of it. "All senior staff, report to the briefing room."

A few minutes later, Ron was looking at his entire command crew. Josh, Sovak, Felix, and Carmen were there, along with Commander Samuel Flint, his British Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Marcus Nemo, Chief Medical Officer, the Galley Officer, Ensign Auric Silver, and, sitting at the far end of the table, Ensign Annika Hansen, formerly called Seven of Nine, the 'observer and advisor' that Janeway 'requested' he bring along with him. He knew she was no longer part of the Borg Collective, but her few remaining external implants still gave him a slight chill despite her yellow-trimmed uniform.

"You've already been briefed on our mission," Ron said, his elbows on the table and his hands clasped together, "so I won't bother repeating it. But almost all of us went through the Academy together. Some of us go back even farther than that. Either way, you know who it is we're after, and you know why. When I initially selected you for this crew, I had no idea what we were supposed to do. And after I was told our mission...I knew I couldn't have asked for a better one to come with me. I know that none of you are any more willing to kill her than I am. As long as we have to do this, and I hope I speak for all of us when I say I wish we _didn't,_ bringing Kim in alive is our goal; nothing else is acceptable. If anyone wants to back out, speak up."

There was silence. "Dismissed."

Two days later, Kim was leaning over the bar at Ruby's Saloon, which was more or less the only real business in Liberty, the only town on the desert world and which shared its name with the planet. She stared at the mug of hot raktajino that had been poured for her more than an hour earlier when she first arrived with her new fleet. Normally, she would have downed two or three drinks by this point, especially after taking a haul like the Klingon ships, but on this particular day, she didn't feel much like celebrating.

"Hey; what's wrong, Kimmie?" The owner/operator of the saloon, Ruby, had sat down on the stool next to her. The blond Australian girl's soft features belied the firebrand Kim knew lurked just beneath the surface. "I haven't seen you _this_ upset since those Orions accused you of stealing Shego."

"It's...complicated, Ruby."

"Lucky for you I've got plenty of time, then." She listened as Kim filled her in on what Wade had told her. "And you're not sure if Ronnie still cares for you; am I right?"

Kim slammed her fist on the counter. "That's just it; I don't know. I mean, I know he's got his career to think of, and if he refused the assignment he could kiss his commission goodbye. But still..."

"All I can tell you is to follow your heart, Kimmie. We're all friends here in Liberty, and we've got your back. No matter what."

The redhead clasped her friend's hand. "Thanks, Ruby. That means a lot to me right now."

Ron was at a loss for what to do. He'd spent an entire week searching the area around and in the Briar Patch, Kim's last suspected location, to no avail. Even _Reliant_'s enhanced sensor packages were unable to find as much as a single energy particle to mark her passing. Several times, in the privacy of his own quarters, he had tried to reach her on their private comm frequency, but there was no answer.

_And I can't really blame her,_ he thought. _She _has _to know that they sent me to look for her by now. She might just be playing it safe until she knows what I'm going to do...but I know better than to think that way. I don't like to admit it, but the next time I see Kim, if I ever do again, we'll most likely be enemies._ He worriedly drummed the nails of his right hand on the arm of his chair, staring out at the image of the Briar Patch and the space surrounding it. A long, awkward silence settled over the bridge.

A silence broken by Annika Hansen from her seat at the aft Science station. "Captain, I do not believe that any further searches of the area will yield any results."

"I know that as well as you do, Ensign, but this is the only lead we've got."

"Perhaps not," Sovak said from Tactical. When Ron turned in his chair to face the Vulcan, he continued. "Most of the crew is aware that you have contacts that Starfleet does not. It may not be _strictly_ by-the-book, but in a case such as this..." he trailed off.

He looked around at his bridge crew. All of them save for Commander Mankey had carefully averted their eyes, and Josh had a small grin on his face. "And the guy _does_ owe you a favor for getting him out of that mess with the Andorians."

Ron sighed and stood up. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. You have the bridge, Number One." With that, he strode into the turbolift.

Josh moved to the middle of the bridge, not taking the center seat as one might expect. He looked back at Sovak. "Commander, did that pesky glitch cause us to lose the last few minutes of our bridge operations recordings again?"

Sovak grinned slightly and punched a few commands into his console. "As a matter of fact, sir, yes. Everything said and done in the last ten minutes has been deleted from our computer."

"We're going to have to have them fix that when we get back to Earth. Who knows what _other_ important data might be lost because of things like that?"

Hansen turned her back to the rest of the bridge officers to hide the small smile that was creeping onto her face.

In his quarters, Ron activated his computer terminal. As the United Federation of Planets insignia appeared on the screen, he punched in several access codes and gave two vocal passwords that would bypass the normal communications system security protocols, thus leaving no trace of his transmission anywhere in the ship's computer. He had done this many times before throughout his Starfleet career to set up secret meetings with his beloved after she became a known smuggler and pirate, but each time filled him with dread and fear that he would be caught. He keyed in a comm frequency and coordinates, ignoring the computer's statement that there was nothing at said coordinates to contact, and waited.

A moment later, the face of Wade Load appeared on his monitor. The young computer genius scowled when he saw the blond officer. "You've got a lot of nerve calling me, Stoppable, after what you did to Kim."

"Wade...listen..."  
"Why should I? You've basically betrayed her _and_ the rest of us to Starfleet by accepting this mission! There are a _lot_ of people I've dealt with over the years that I figured I couldn't trust, but you weren't one of them. Until _now_, anyway."

"Wade, will you shut up and listen to me?" Ron was growing impatient. "I don't like this situation any more than you do! I am _not_ going to bring Kim in! I'm not sure _how_ I'm going to do it, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that she doesn't rot in some prison for the rest of her life. But before I can do that, I need to talk to her to clear the air about a lot of things, and I can't do that unless I find her."

Wade was silent for a long time, then his features softened a little. "_That_ sounds more like the Ron that I know." There was a pause. "Alright; I'll tell you where she is. But you have to _promise_ not to let your crew know too much."

"Wade, my 'crew' is Josh, Felix, and our old friends from the Academy. They're not willing to bring Kim in, either."

Wade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And I suppose that this 'Starfleet observer and tactical advisor' that Janeway sent along with you is another 'old friend'?"

"No, but she might be a new one. I can't explain it, really, but she was part of Janeway's crew on _Voyager_ and I think I can trust her." His expression changed slightly. "And I don't think I want to know how you know about her."

Another silence, followed by a long, loud sigh. "Alright; she's in the Delta Aeridon system."

"Delta Aeridon? That's out towards the Galactic Rim. What's she doing out there?"

"It's not controlled by any law, government, or military. She's there to meet a contact she set up through one of our contacts on _Deep Space 9_, but she didn't give me all the details. But she goes there fairly often when the heat's on, and she's probably got her ships hiding in a nebula two sectors over. You should be able to get in without trouble. There's only one town on the planet; you can't miss it. Look for her at Ruby's; that's where she spends most of her time."

"Thanks." He then added, "Wade, do you remember that old song Kim and I used to sing? The one that got us the award in the talent show three years running?"

"You mean that one about pirates bragging about their misdeeds and encouraging one another to drink?"

"That's the one."

"Yeah, but why'd you bring that up?"

"I just got to thinking how much fun we had with that...and that maybe _I'm_ not the one who made the wrong choice. I'll talk to you later, Wade." The image on the screen winked out, and Ron leaned back in his chair. It was going to be a _long_ day.

Shego strode up to the second floor of Ruby's Saloon that served as a hotel and entered the room she and Kim had been allowed use of during their stay. "Well, I got it," she said, holding up a datacard triumphantly. "The idiot was two days late because the customs guys almost saw through his forged documents, but he got here. He had the gall to try and charge us more than we'd agreed on, but I 'persuaded' him to stick to the original deal." Then she noticed that Kim was laying face-down on the bed. Exactly as she had been for the last week.

She sighed and sat down on the bed next to her captain and friend. "Kimmie, you can't do this to yourself. I tried to tell you that staying involved with him was a bad idea. Those Starfleeters are all alike; no spines, no brains, and no honor. They blindly follow their orders no matter what _they_ think is right or wrong. But I..." she cupped the redhead's chin in her hand and lefted her face up to look her in the eye, "...will _always_ be here for you." The look in her eyes left no doubt as to what she meant.

"Shego...are you saying...? I mean..."

The green-hued women cut her off. "I didn't say anything before because I knew he was important to you, and I just wanted to see you happy while it lasted. But I can't sit back and watch you destroy yourself over someone who obviously doesn't care for you. I _love_ you, Kimberly Anne Possible, and will do anything in my power to make you happy again."

Kim blinked several times. "Shego..." It was all she could manage to say.

"Don't say anything." She planted a gentle kiss on her captain's lips. "Allow me to show you the depth of my love." She kissed Kim again, more forcefully this time, as she started to undo the zipper on the front of her captain's coverall.

_Reliant_ settled into orbit over the fifth planet in the binary Delta Aeridon star system. It had taken less than a day to get there from the Briar Patch at maximum warp. As soon as the orbit was stable, Ron turned the bridge over to Josh and headed for the turbolift. Everyone on the bridge knew or at least suspected what he had in mind, but no-one said anything.

In his quarters, Ron discarded his uniform and donned a simple pair of boots, tan-colored pants, and a long-sleeved mauve shirt. He tucked his commbadge into his left boot as a precaution, but his rank insignia on the table. He then placed an order with the replicator, picked up a third item he'd prepared earlier from the table and, his packages in hand, headed towards the transporter room.

Felix met him there, eying the items Ron was carrying. "You sure about this, man? They'll probably recognize you down there. Especially with what amounts to a Federation battleship in orbit."

"Got no choice, Felix. This is something I _have_ to take care of myself and do it _my_ way."

"You're the boss; nothing I can do to stop you. Just be careful, alright?"

"Always try to be, Felix. You know what to do if I signal the ship but dont say anything, right?" Felix nodded, and Ron spoke to the transporter operator. "Energize." The swirling blue particles of the annular confinement beam surrounded him, the transporter room and his two crewmen vanished, and he found himself about fifty yards away from the planet's only settlement.

It looked like something out of one of the old Western towns you would see replicated in holo-novels or adventure programs. All of the buildings were made from local hardwoods, all signs, including the large one proclaiming the town's name, were crudely carved from wood with paintjobs that had long since seen better days, and the 'street' was nothing more than the sand that covered the rest of the area. There were a few people milling about in the street or sitting on porches in front of the buildings, and part of him expected to see holsters with antique projectile weapons in them at their sides. Another part wished he'd brought a phaser.

As he walked down the street, he could feel the eyes on him. Obviously, strangers were not welcome here, and he assumed that they knew or at least suspected that he was Starfleet. Or, at the very least, not an outlaw. Some of them had their hands resting on bulges concealed by jackets or loose shirts, and it didn't take much imagination to know what made those bulges or what their owners were thinking. _Okay...maybe this _wasn't _such a good idea. But it's too late to turn back now._

Halfway through the town, he spotted a large building twice as tall and four times as broad and deep as any of the others. Its sign, a tad less worn than most, simply said, 'Ruby's Saloon'. _Okay; this is where Wade said she'd be. Looks like there's a lot of people in there. If I'm caught, there could be trouble. _He stole a glance around him. _But at least they won't have as clear a shot as the ones out here would._ Steeling himself, he pushed open the swinging double-doors and entered.

The room was dimly lit; there were several windows to let sunlight in, but they were covered in dust from outside and grit and grim from inside. The three hanging lights were each hastily-rigged from a single half-sized glow panel most likely salvaged from an old freighter and provided little illumination. In one corner, someone was attempting to play an old piano, but the tune was rendered unrecognizable; either the player was horrible, the instrument out of tune, or, most likely, both.

Nervously, with virtually every eye in the establishment on him, Ron made his way to the bar where a young blond girl was cleaning a stack of glasses. He leaned over the wooden counter and whispered, "I'm looking for Kim Possible. I come by way of Wade."

The girl scowled. "Shego said you might come around, _Captain_. Slade. Ram." As she said this, a tall dark-haired man in a white jacket and blue pants and a smaller man dressed in a form-fitting black vinyl jumpsuit moved from unseen positions to her left and right to stand next to her.

The tall one spoke. "Apparently, you don't know the rules here, mister."

"R-rules?"

The girl spoke again. "No Starfleet, no Starfleet, and absolutely _no_ Starfleet."

"Um, that's technically only _one_ rule..." Ron said sheepishly.

The shorter man replied, "Ruby likes to make sure her point gets across."

"Now," the tall one said again, "are you going to leave peacefully, or do Ram and I get to earn our pay?"

"Look, I'm not here for a fight."

The one who was obviously Slade cracked his knuckles. "Then you came to the _wrong_ place, mate."

"I just want to see Kim. I'm not here in an official capacity. Okay, I guess _maybe_ I _technically_ am, but I'm _not_ obeying my orders. Kim's my...my friend, and I'd _never_ turn her in. Starfleet can hang me from a gallows or send me EVA without a vac suit if they want, but _nothing_ would make me betray her. We've been together since we were kids, and I want to tell her I've finally made a decision. No more ranks and commissions, no more secret meetings while I'm on leave...I'm going to give it _all_ up if she'll just talk to me." There was a determined fire in his eyes, the nervousness seeming to have taken a back seat to his objective for the time being.

"Then why," Ram asked, "did you bring a Federation starship to this world?"

"That's the ship I'll not be in command of for much longer. All I have to do is send one short signal, and the helmsman will take the ship away, leaving me here for good. I'm unarmed, there's nobody coming to back me up...I'm just here to talk to Kim."

Ruby stared at him for a long time. It was possible that he was lying in order to carry out his mission, but she'd heard Kim speak volumes about his honesty and integrity over the years. She made her choice and hoped she wouldn't regret it. With a wave of her hand, Slade and Ram disappeared back into the shadows. "Alright; I'll let you see her. But if there's _any_ trouble, people around here shoot first and don't even _bother_ asking questions." Ron nodded once. "She's upstairs; room eight."

Ron went around the bar and started up the stairs when Ruby spoke to him again. He turned his head to see her half-smiling and winking at him. "Good luck."

He climbed the stairs and walked down the hall until he reached a wooden door with a hand-stenciled number eight done in black paint. Gulping, he turned the rounded knob, pushed the door open...

...and promptly dropped his packages on the floor. Laying in the room's only bed was Kim. Her nude body was half-covered by a thin blanket, and cuddling up to her back was Shego, the woman who served as her first mate. There was no doubt in his mind as to what they had been up to, and he felt as though his heart were being torn from his chest by an angry Nausicaan. He turned and ran from the room, bolted down the hall and stairs, through the saloon, out into the street, out of the town, and just kept going.

He lost track of how long he'd been running, but finally his legs just gave way beneath him and his lungs burned with a need for oxygen. His vision blurry and senses dulled from fatigue, he lay there on the sand for several minutes under the intense glare of the system's twin suns before reaching down into his boot, pulling out his commbadge, and tapping the activation circuit. "Stoppable to..._Reliant,_" he said breathlessly, "one to...beam up." The blue swirl of the transporter engulfed him again, he materialized on the cool metal pad, and promptly passed out.

The noise of rapid, heavy footfalls heading away from her room startled Kim awake. When she saw the open door, her first instinct was to look for an attacker in the room itself, but then she saw the discarded items on the floor. Wrapping the blanket around her bare body, she crossed the room and knelt down to inspect them.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open when she saw a dozen long-stemmed roses neatly wrapped in white tissue paper and tied with green ribbon, a heart-shaped box of cream-filled chocolate candies, and an old-style greeting card with a starscape background, a heart-shaped sun in the the middle, and two planets, extremely close to one another, orbiting that sun. Opening the card with shaky hands, she read the hand-written words that took up the entire inner portion.

_Kim, I hope we can put all this behind us. I never had any intention of betraying you; honest. But if Wade was angry enough that he would have shot me had we been face-to-face, I can only imagine how _you _feel. I had no idea they were going to send me after you until it was too late. I was confused and had no idea what to do. If I let you go, even if my crew _didn't _mutiny, my career would pretty much be over. But if I brought you in and saved my career, my life wouldn't have been worth living at that point. It took me a while to reach this decision, KP, and I'm going to resign my Starfleet commission. Josh will take over my ship and get her and her crew back to Earth, and you and I can be together like we always wanted. I don't care if I become the most wanted man in the galaxy; as long as I'm with you, nothing else will matter. I love you, Kimberly Anne Possible, in more ways than mere words can say, and my life is incomplete every second you're not in it._

_Yours eternally,_

_Ron Stoppable._

Kim broke down and started to cry. Shego, having been awakened by Kim's sudden departure from the bed, knelt beside her captain. "What's wrong, Princess?"

The redhead shakily held up the card. "R-Ron. He was here. He...he wasn't going to turn me in. He was going to give up his career. I was so hung up on thinking he'd betrayed me that _I_ betrayed _him_. Oh, Shego; what have I done?"

The green-skinned woman sighed. _I guess it wasn't meant to be between us. Well, that one night was more than I had any right to expect._ "Kimmie, if he's the one you want in your life, go get him. I can't stop you. You have to follow your heart. I love you and nothing will change that; but if I force you to stay with me to satisfy my own passions while denying you yours, I would be doing _both_ of us a disservice." She turned the redhead to face her. "Go to him. Show him the same fiery passion I showed you. Take him; make him yours, now and forever. But," she grinned widely, "you've got a fleet waiting on your orders. Don't forget about us." She kissed her beloved's soft, welcoming lips for what would be the final time and crawled back onto the bed.

Kim sat next to her and began pulling her jumpsuit and boots back on. "Shego...thanks. For everything." She gave her a small kiss on the forehead and left the room, scooping up Ron's gifts along the way.

"Go get 'im, Tiger," Shego said softly when Kim had left. Slowly, she gathered up her armor and weapons and began to dress.

Ron awoke in his quarters. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there at first, but when he saw Annika Hansen standing over him, the answer was fairly obvious.

"Captain, I feel that it is my duty to inform you that you have been unconscious for twenty-two-point-eight minutes, and that Doctor Nemo is complaining that you are here and not in sickbay."

Ron sat up groggily. "Did you bring me here?"

"No. Lieutenant Renton was still in the transporter room when you returned to the ship. After determining that you had no injuries, he brought you here and asked me to monitor you while he returned to his station on the bridge."

The blond-haired captain swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I don't think I can stand right now. Open up the storage locker and get me the clear bottle with the amber liquid in it."

The tall woman did as ordered, but felt compelled to protest when she saw the lable. "Captain, the consumption of alcoholic beverages by Starfleet personnel aboard a Federation vessel is a violation of Regulation..."

"Don't quote me regulations, Ensign. They've caused me more pain then you can ever know. Now give me the damned bottle." Reluctantly, Annika handed the nearly-full container over. Ron pulled the cork out and downed a large swallow, wincing a little as it burned his throat and stomach. "Scotch. Hundred-proof. Vintage 2350. Want any?" He held the bottle out to her.

"I do not wish to become intoxicated at this time."

"Suit yourself. But I _need_ this." He swallowed more of the fiery liquid, and though his apparent condition seemed to worsen as he drank, his overall demeanor improved slightly.

"Captain, may I inquire what happened on the planet? You appeared injured, yet there was nothing physically wrong with you." She watched as he tossed back another large gulp. "Until a few moments ago, that is."

"You may ask, but I may not tell."

"I believe it is in your best interest if we open a dialogue on the subject before you open a hole in your liver," she said dryly.

Ron took several swallows of the liquid, which now did not quite fill half of the bottle. "My liver and I are none of your business."

"You are the captain of this vessel. That makes it the business of everyone who serves under you." Frustrated, she reached out and took the whiskey away from him. "If you continue drinking like that, you will most likely perish."

"When?"

"You are acting quite immature. Far more so than your Starfleet service record would indicate. You have performed flawlessly on many occasions and have earned more commendations than most officers of comparable age. It is more than an idle curiosity which prompts me in this instance, but I feel that I am justified in asking why you seem so intent on destroying yourself."

Ron reached for the bottle, but Annika pulled it away. The alcohol was already having an effect on his balance and he toppled over onto his side. "I don't remember seeing you listed as the ship's counselor."

"No; I am here as an observer and advisor. And if you want my honest opinion..."

"I don't."

"...I believe you to be in need of advice."

Ron sat up and stared her in the eye. "And what'll you do if I don't listen? Assimilate me? Force me to comply with your directives?" he snapped. The words stung Annika more than she would have ever admitted, and the young captain could see the pained expression on her face that she was trying so very hard to conceal. He turned away from her and lowered his gaze to the floor. "Ensign...I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"Indeed it was. But nothing can be done about it now. I know that I am not trained as a counselor, but what I know of human emotional states would indicate that you are in need of...I believe the term is a 'friendly ear'."

"Do you _really_ want to know?"

"I cannot be of any asistance to you if I do not."

Ron sighed. "Might as well tell you. Hell, the _rest_ of the ship's probably figured it out by now anyway." He told her of the long-standing relationship between himself and Kim; their childhood, teenage years, becoming lovers, graduation, attending the Academy, the clandestine meetings after she became a wanted smuggler and pirate, everything. Then, after a long pause, he related what had happened on the planet.

"I see," Annika said when he was done. "Because you saw her in the aftermath of an obvious copulation with her first mate, you automatically assumed that she no longer cared for you. Did it occur to you that you may have been in error?"

Ron blinked. "Wha...?"

"From what you have told me, her behavior is not indicative of one who would arbitrarily end your relationship without informing you. She may have been intoxicated, as you are well on your way to becoming, or perhaps seduced in some way. But you do not possess all available information; it could be that it is their practice to sleep nude in the same bed, but no more than that. You made a rash, emotionally-fueled judgment. That was your first mistake."

"What was the second?"

The ex-Borg's voice softened. "Not giving her a chance to explain. I may have been part of the Collective for most of my life, but I _am_ still female and can predict with a ninety-seven-point-two-five percent accuracy margin that if you had only spoken with her as you originally intended, this situation could have been avoided."

Ron was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he smiled slightly and said, "Janeway was right about you."

"In what way?"

"She said that I would find you very 'efficient'. And she was right. Thanks, Ensign."

"My friends call me Seven."

"Is that what I am now?"

"I believe you could be. You remind me in many ways of Tom Paris."

"Huh?"

"You are rash and emotional, as your recent actions have proven, but you also have a loyalty to your friends and your beliefs that I had come to believe few outside the _Voyager_ crew possessed. It is that loyalty that has earned you my respect despite the short time we have served together, and that respect means that I will follow your orders despite what Starfleet regulations say. And I believe that the rest of the crew is with me."

Ron stood up. He was a little shaky, partially due to the alcohol and partially due to nervousness, but he managed to stay upright. "Ens...Seven," he said, "I'm going planetside. I should be back in less than an hour."

"And if you are not?"

"Felix knows what to do." Ron left the room, the door hissing shut behind him, and Seven was fairly sure that, by the end of the day, the command structure on _Reliant_ would be quite different.

Kim once again sat at the bar in Ruby's Saloon. She grabbed the bottle of Andorian ale and poured another glass; her twelfth, by Ruby's count, and clearly not her last if the young pirate had her way. Next to her on the polished wooden surface were the gifts Ron had brought for her earlier.

Slade tapped Ruby on the shoulder. "You don't see her drink like this unless she's celebrating, and I hardly think she's in a good mood. Why does she keep mumbling, 'I've lost him'?"

The blond girl whispered her reply so that the other nearby patrons would not overhear. "When I sent Ron upstairs, he found Kim and Shego nestled together like two kangaroos in their momma's pouch. He ran out of here faster than I've seen anyone move that _didn't_ have an angry Klingon behind them, and Kim went after him a minute later.

"When she came back, she had that blank stare on her face, ordered the ale, then told me to leave the bottle. I had Ram follow their trail, and both sets of tracks ended about half a mile outside town with only one coming back. He must have went back to his ship."

Slade let out a low whistle. "Those two must really love each other. He's risking prison just by _talking_ to her, and she's lost that spark that makes her the best pirate this galaxy's ever seen now that she thinks he's gone forever."

"Without one, the other is incomplete. It's romantic, when you think about it."

"But we can't leave them like this."

"Slade, that would be meddling."

"And if we don't do _something_, those two will have lost something more valuable than _any_ treasure in the galaxy."

"Why, Slade; if I didn't know better, I'd almost say you _cared_ about someone other than yourself."

He grinned wryly at her. "Who says I don't?"

"Slade," Ruby looked away from him, "we've been over this. We're too close as it is. If things went bad, we wouldn't even be able to work together. Maybe someday we can work it out, but that day _isn't_ today."

"I've learned better than to argue with you, but you know I'll never leave you alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a captain to find."

Seated in Ron's ready room, Josh stared slack-jawed as Seven delivered her report. "He did _what?_"

"Captain Stoppable has returned to the planet and referred to instructions that he had given to Lieutenant Renton. I believe his intention is to resign his commission and remain with Possible."

_Reliant_'s first officer slammed his hand down on the desk. "Damn it! I should have known he'd pull a stunt like this! You're dismissed, Ensign." Seven nodded and left the room. Josh pressed a button on the desk. "Security detail to transporter room one." He reached into a locker built into the wall and pulled out a hand phaser. "Ron was too close to this from the beginning. I was willing to let Kim escape because she was my friend, but I can't have her turning Starfleet's best officers into pirates."

Ron rematerialized on the planet just outside the town and retraced his path to Ruby's. Halfway there, he ran into the one called Slade.

"Looks like you saved me a trip," the dark-haired youth said.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked.

Slade grinned. "There's a certain redhead drinking herself silly because she thinks she's lost you. I was going to drag you back here, but it seems like you're not ready to let her go."

"You mean...she still cares?"

"Probably more then even _she_ knew, mate. Come on."

Slade led the young Captain into the saloon, where the first sight to greet his eyes once he adjusted to the dim light was a familiar redheaded figure at the bar.

"Kim?" he asked, walking up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

The pirate whirled around on the stool, nearly losing her balance. "R-Ron??? You...you came back?"

"I almost didn't. I...I thought you'd left me, KP." Tears had begun to form in his eyes. "I saw you with Shego and..."

"That was a mistake, Ron. A _big_ one. After Wade told me that Starfleet sent you after me, I thought...I thought..." Kim was crying freely at this point.

"That I'd betrayed you?" Kim nodded. "I would _never_ do that. I've spent the past week wondering how I could stay loyal to both you _and_ Starfleet. And...I realized I can't."

"Ron..."

"Let me finish. Felix is on board the ship they sent me in. Before I left to come look for you the first time, I gave Felix orders to take the ship back to Earth without me if I gave the right kind of signal." He removed the commbadge from his boot, fingering the shiny surface without activating the circuit. "I'm prepared to send that sugnal any time. I'll stay with you no matter where you go or what happens. I _love_ you, Kim, and no career, commission, or starship assignment is going to change that."

Kim couldn't believe her ears. "But you worked so hard to get where you are. At the Academy, studying was your _life_. You wanted to make the highest marks so you would be at the top of the list for duty assignments. You even managed to graduate second in your class. Why would you throw that all away?"

"Well, first of all, technically I was _third_ in my class as far as academics go. The only reason I _graduated_ second was because Josh fell asleep halfway through his final exam and it took his GPA down a few notches. Second..._no_ career or starship is worth losing you over."

"So...you'd be willing to join up with the galaxy's most wanted pirate just because you've got a thing for her?"

"More than a 'thing', KP. I can't live without you."

Kim threw her arms around her lover. "Can't live without you either, hon."

Ron smiled. "I'll signal Felix and..." He was stopped by a black-gloved hand grabbing his wrist. "Sh-shego?"

"Can't let you do that, Stoppable," the green-skinned woman said.

Kim glared at her first mate. "Have you lsot it, Shego? He's _not_ going to turn us in."

"I'm over that, Princess. The fact that he came back for you leaves no doubt that his heart is honorable and true. Unlike mine." She sighed. "I took advantage of you at a vulnerable moment. I dishonored myself and you, Kim, and am not worthy to serve with you or be your friend, although I hope I am still allowed to do so. But I can make up for what I did in a small way by telling you _not_ to send that signal, Stoppable. I just talked with Wade, and he told me who's on your crew."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kim asked.

"It's made up of the people you grew up and went to the Academy with, and they don't want you arrested, either."

Ron was curious now. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Shego replied, "that there might be an option you hadn't considered." Ron and Kim listened as the armored warrior explained her plan.

"You know, that's just crazy enough to work." Ron said.

"Can you _seriously_ believe the crew would go along with that? They're as dedicated to their careers as you are." Kim added.

"No; they're as dedicated to _space_ as much as I am. I picked them because of that and because I knew I could trust them. But I have to admit, I didn't think of _this_." He tapped the commbadge. "Stoppable to _Reliant_. Three to beam up."

"_Three?_" Kim and Shego said together.

"Hey; this is your idea, Shego. You might as well be there to see it in action. And...I'm _not_ leaving you again, Kim." The redhead nodded and scooped up the flowers, candy, and card before the shimmering transporter beam enveloped them.

When they materialized on the pad, Ron was shocked to see Felix, Sovak, Carmen, Seven, and the rest of his command crew minus Josh a few steps away facing in his direction. "Welcome back, Captain," Felix said.

"Felix...what's this about?" Ron asked.

"I told everyone what you were planning, and we came to a decision. We said we'd follow you to Hell and back, sir." The brown-haired man reached up and plucked his commbadge off of his uniform tunic, dropping it to the floor. The rest of the group, including the ensign operating the transporter controls, did likewise. "The rest of the ship is with us, sir. Where you go, we go."

Ron smirked a little. "You realize that there is no turning back now, right? If you decide you want to go back to Earth, you'd be arrested the second you entered the system. This life isn't an easy one, and will most likely end up with us all dying young."

The group was silent until Seven spoke up. "The crew is awaiting your orders, Captain."

Kim smiled and put her arm around Ron. "Looks like the voice of reason doesn't apply to this band of rogues you picked as a crew, Ron."

"You're a fine one to talk, Kim. Alright; everyone back to the bridge. We're going to..."

At that moment, Josh and two security officers entered the room armed with hand phasers. "Ron Stoppable, I'm placing you under arrest." He looked to Kim and Shego. "And you two, as well."

Felix turned and glared at the taller boy. "You're going to have to take _all_ of us, Josh, and you _don't_ have the manpower for that." That was when Josh noticed that none of the small group was wearing a commbadge.

"If that's the way you want to play it, Renton, then fine." He spoke to the security officers, motioning with his phaser. "Arrest them all. Put them in the brig until we reach Earth."

The officers didn't move a muscle.

"Did you hear me? I said arrest them!" The only reply was the sound of two commbadges hitting the metal floor. Mankey whirled around to see that the two men had their phasers aimed at him. "What are you _doing?_"

"Placing you under arrest, Commander," one of them said flatly.

"This is _mutiny!_ I could have you both court-martialled for this!"

The other guard answerd him. "No, sir. Mutiny would be if we turned against the Captain. He's standing on that transporter pad, and _you_ were the one aiming a weapon at _him_." He reached up and took Josh's phaser away while he partner removed the commander's commbadge.

"What shall we do with him, Captain?" the first guard asked.

Ron thought it over for a moment. "I'm not sure. We obviously can't let him run loose, but we can't keep him in the brig, either." He sat down on the edge of the pad and rubbed his chin. After several long moments, he snapped his fingers. "Put him in an escape pod. Set it on a course for Earth and lock the helm so that he can't change it, give him enough ration bars to last him the trip, and disable long-range communications. By the time he talks to anyone, we'll be long gone."

"Aye, sir." The security men dragged Josh away, him cursing and screaming the entire time.

"Didn't expect _that_ kind of move from you, Ron," Kim said.

Ron stood up. "Maybe your way of thinking is already rubbing off on me."

"Not quite. I'd have just dumped him out an airlock."

"Harsh."

"Effective, though."

"Don't like to kill, KP."

"I know, but he would have killed _you_ if he thought he had to, and then I'd have had to kill _him_. Nobody hurts my man. _Nobody._"

The young captain smiled. "Glad to know I've got such a dedicated woman. Okay, everyone, let's get to the bridge."

A short while later, Ron sat in _Reliant_'s center chair again. To his right sat Kim, seemingly at home in the first officer's chair, and Shego stood next to her, as if guarding the redhead. _Now _that's _loyalty_, Ron thought. _This is a course of action that could get us all killed, and yet Shego continues to stay by her. Of course, _my _crew isn't much different._

"Captain," Sovak, now dressed in gray slacks and a matching short-sleeved shirt, reported from Tactical, "Commander Mankey's escape pod has cleared its docking port and engaged engines."

"Thanks, Sovak. Felix, set a course for the Terkona Nebula, full impulse."

"Aye, sir." The stars on the viewscreen began to move as the ship accelerated. In less than an hour, they were at the edge of the blue-black nebula.

Kim tapped a few commands into the panel on the arm of her chair, and the five Klingon vessels emerged in a pefect 'V' formation, pointed directly at _Reliant_.

Shego produced a commlink from her belt pouch and spoke into it in Klingon too fast for Ron to catch. A minute later, Sovak reported that the shields and weapons of all five had been powered down.

Kim stood up. "I'd better go. I'll call you once I'm on _Chimaera_'s bridge."

Ron took ahold of her wrist and stopped her. "I've got a better idea, KP." He turned his gaze forward. "Felix, you and Carmen go over to _Chimaera_ and take command." The two got up from their stations and left the bridge.

Shego's eyes went wide. "What are you...?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Kim's now my first officer, and you're second after her."

"Why are you doing this, Ron?" his redheaded lover asked.

Ron smiled. "Because it's the best move, KP. If you're on another ship, I'd always worry about you. I'd be calling you every five minutes just to make sure you were okay This way, we can always be together. No matter what."

"I-I'm not sure what the fleet is going to think of this."

"Once you tell them what's happened, I'm sure they'll understand." As if on cue, Shego passed her commlink to Kim.

The young pirate smirked a little. "I should have known there'd be a twist to this." She thumbed the activator switch and spoke. "Attention all ships; this is your _former_ captain speaking. The fleet is now under the command of Ron Stoppable, and _Reliant_ is our new flagship. There are two officers boarding _Chimaera_ to take control, and I expect their orders and Ron's to be followed as though they were mine. I know what a lot of you are probably thinking, and this _isn't_ a surrender to Starfleet or some kind of trick to get you to lower your guard. The situation is..._complicated_ to say the least, but our goals have in no way changed. We're still going for the galaxy's greatest trasures; we've just got a lot more muscle to do it with." She clicked off the commlink and waited.

A moment later, the image of a dark-haired bearded man appeared on the viewer. "Captain, with all due respect, are you _sure_ that this is what you want?"

"What do you mean, Tom?" Kim asked, rising to her feet with Ron joining her a moment later. "Or are you still insisting that I call you 'Mr. Riker?"

"I just want to know if you're sure about this. I mean, he _is_ Starfleet."

"No," the redhead replied, "he's a _pirate_." She then pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. The face on the screen relaxed a little, then the image winked out.

Ron broke the kiss when Sovak spoke. "Felix and Carmen report that they are on _Chimaera_'s bridge and are ready to depart on your orders."

Kim grinned. "Up for a little treasure hunt, _Captain_?"

"What sort of treasure?" She told him about the latinum in the Neutral Zone. "You mean you want to take these ships and their skeleton crews near Romulan space to try and nab something that you're not even one hundred percent sure is there?" Kim nodded. "Sounds like fun. But I'll need a new helmsman for the time being."

"Problem solved," Kim said as she sat down at Felix's console. "I can fly anything with a warp core."

"Alright. Shego, would you mind taking over Ops?"

"Not at all, sir." The armored woman had to remove the _bat'leth_ from her back to sit in the chair, and Ron had to smile a little when he saw her loop the massive weapon's strap over the backrest before sitting.

"Alright, Kim; you've got the coordinates. Feed them to the other ships, then tell all vessels to set course and prepare for Warp 8." Kim tapped her console a few times, then reported the readiness of the fleet – _Ron_'s fleet – to depart. "Engage." He allowed himself a broad smile. "_We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs...D__rink up, me 'earties, yo ho._"

Several days later, Josh Mankey stood in Admiral Janeway's office, giving his report on the situation. "And that's exactly what happened."

"Captain Stoppable essentially stole _Reliant_ and has now joined the same pirates he was sent to hunt?"

"Yes ma'am. The entire crew was with him; I was the only one trying to obey my orders. Even the woman you sent along was more than willing to go along with it. With your permission, I'd like to take a few ships and..."

"That will be enough, Commander. You're dismissed."

"But, Admiral, we might still be able to..."

"I said 'dismissed', Commander."

Josh set his jaw, the offered a brisk salute, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the office.

A moment later, a side door opened and two individuals walked in. Janeway smiled. "All is going according to plan, gentlemen."

James Tiberius Kirk mimicked the smile. "I told you it would work, Chancellor."

Martok's facial expression did not change. "_So far_, it has worked. But I have not had an easy time explaining to the Council why I ordered the task force to stop pursuing Possible. Many of them are screaming for her blood, and the rest are not being as kind. I wish I could tell them that I allowed her to have the ships, but it could be more dangerous if they know than if they don't."

"They'll get over it," Kirk replied. "How's Starfleet going to take this, Admiral?"

Janeway handed him a mug of coffee. "Well, the loss of a _Prometheus_-class starship is nothing to sneeze at. I had to pull a lot of strings just to get him assigned to _Reliant_ in the first place, but I knew they would need that firepower. There are a lot of threats, new and old, starting to emerge from the chaos of the last few years. The Breen have started rattling sabers again, there are reports of Tholian attacks on colonies along their border, the Cardassians are _far_ too quiet for _anyone's_ liking, and who knows what the Romulans will try to cook up now that there's a power vacuum in their Empire."

"Starfleet can't officially do anything about this," Kirk added, sipping from the mug, "but another group with no ties to the Federation is _perfect_ for the task. Never mind that Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force have armed them, even if they didn't know they were doing it."

"I am forced to agree," Martok added. "Again. But no matter _how_ many times I think this through, I still come to the conclusion that if anyone ever figures out what we have done, all three of us would be imprisoned or worse."

"I assure you," Janeway said, "that is _not_ going to happen. When I assigned her to _Reliant_, I gave Seven of Nine a special comm frequency. If Starfleet starts to send anyone else after our little group, I can alert her and she'll be able to keep the fleet safe. And if the Klingons do the same, Chancellor, you can tell me so I can pass along the message. We need Stoppable and his new friends to handle the things we can't touch, and I won't let _anything_ jeopardize this endeavor."

_Captain's Log, Stardate 56884.9. My crew and I have turned our backs on Starfleet to become a band of swashbucklers and vagabonds, out for nothing more than treasure and adventure. On the surface, it doesn't seem to bad, but we took one of their best new ships in the process. I feel bad about leaving Josh to fend for himself for so long, but I didn't have any other choice. At least by now he's back on Earth, which is better than staying in the brig or being left on some planet._

_According to our latest projections, at this speed it will take us approximately four days to reach the Romulan Neutral Zone, and another day's travel to reach the site that Kim's contact specified. If he was right, there should be enough latinum there to keep the entire fleet supplied for years as well as hiring on more crewmembers. Despite how illegal this all is, morally and ethically it feels _right_. I'm with Kim again, and there isn't a force in this galaxy, natural or supernatural, that can ever split us up again._

Ron ended his log entry when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Kim dressed only in a loosely-tied red robe. Her hair was still damp and she smelled of soap and shampoo. "Nice shower they gave you."

"One of the perks of being a Captain; we don't have to restrict ourselves to sonic showers."

"So," she asked, draping her arms around his neck, "no regrets?"

"No regrets," he replied, pulling her over to the bed. They collapsed onto the mattress, their lips locked together as though it had been an eternity since they kissed. Kim undid the belt of her robe and Ron divested himself of his shirt and slacks.

Outside, Shego leaned against the wall next to the door, smiling at the unmistakable sounds she heard emanating from Ron's quarters. _Well, Pumpkin, you got what you wanted. You and I were never meant to be, but as long as you're happy, I'm happy._ She moved from her position and headed down the corridor. _I wonder what kind of training programs those holodecks have?_

And there you have it; it took me a lot longer than I initially planned to get this one out, but there were several rough spots I had to smooth out before I could be satisfied with what I had written and move on. (I'll tell you right now, calculating Stardates can be a _real_ pain in the keester, but I'm a stickler for accuracy, so I put up with it.) Since I've gotten so many criticisms/questions about it, I'll answer this here: The reason Jim Kirk is present is because this story was written with William Shatner's novels in mind, and in those, Kirk is very much alive after his death on Veridian III. If you are intersted in reading these novels to get the story, you can find a complete list of them on the Wikipedia article about Shatner. I hope you have enjoyed this, and remember, reviews are _always_ appreciated. Also, feel free to drop by the forum for this story and share any ideas/questions/etc you may have.


	2. The Greatest Treasure

_Pirates of the Alpha Quadrant:_

_The Greatest Treasure_  
by

Jarkota

Author's Note:

Finally decided to get off my keester and start this thing. For those of you who've read the update in my profile, things haven't totally settled down yet, but I've _got_ to try to be as normal as I possibly can or I'm going to go insane. That said, I've decided to add a little more to this story and hope that it goes over as well as the previous chapter. I've also taken a few minor liberties with the _Prometheus_-class design; although the prototype in the _Star Trek: Voyager_ episode of the same name was rather spartan in appearance, I would surmise that Starfleet would add in some of the more familiar elements of starship design, such as the additional chairs on either side of the captain's on the bridge. One thing that I have incorporated from the prototype ship is the level of automation the class has; rather than have a crew of eight hundred or so as you would expect, _Reliant_ is run with a total crew of thirty-six, interspersed throughout the vessel (although this number will most likely increase as time goes on and new crew members are picked up).As always, I do not own _Kim Possible_ or _Star Trek_ or anyone/anything appearing therein. Anything original, however, is mine.

Ron didn't remember much after the impact. He had been sitting in his command chair about to order a course correction, and the next thing he knew he was picking himself up from the floor behind Shego's chair at the con. He didn't even want to _think_ about how closely his head had come to one of the points of her _bat'leth_, still hanging from its customary position on the back of the seat. _I've _got_ to convince her not to bring that thing onto the bridge,_ he thought briefly before another tremor went through the _Reliant_.

From behind him, he heard Sovak's voice calling out status reports. "Shields are down to seventy-three percent. Minor damage to the outer hull. That last salvo was strong enough that part of it got through the shields. If the enemy commander figures that out and orders increased weapons power..."

Ron cut him off. "I get it, I get it. Lock onto the lead ship with the starboard phaser banks, maximum power. Fire at will, but hold off on the heavy ordnance for now. I don't want to tip our hand on the pulse cannons just yet."

If Sovak replied at all, it was drowned out by Shego's loud Klingon cursing. "_Chimaera_ reports that the collection process isn't going as fast as we thought. There's plenty of latinum in that rock they're mining, alright, but there are also deposits of unstable dilithium crystals that our informant neglected to tell us about. The extraction teams are having to work around them to get to the latinum."

Another tremor. Savak reported that the shields had gone down to sixty-five percent and continued firing on the_ Valdore_-class ship at the head of the triangle formation of Romulan vessels pursuing _Reliant_. "Great." He looked to Kim, still seated at the helm. "I don't suppose you happened to swipe any dilithium extraction equipment in your illustrious pirate career?"

Kim shook her head. She would respond to his sarcasm later. _If there _is_ a later,_ she mused. "Never thought I'd need it, what with the new recrystalization technologies and all. I figured I'd always have plenty of time to find a new source of crystals before mine weren't usable anymore."

Glancing up at the viewer, Ron saw one of the two _D'deridex_-class warbirds split off from the formation. A moment later, he saw why: two _K'Vort_-class Klingon Birds-of-Prey had warped into the area, their disruptors firing as fast as the cycling systems would allow. He didn't need Sovak's report to know what they were.

"_Gorgon_ and _Hydra_ report full readiness to assist us, Captain," the Vulcan said, the slight relief in his voice obvious.

"Good," the blond captain replied. "Tell them to keep that ship busy. We need to buy as much time as possible to get that latinum into the other ships." He silently thanked whoever it was that decided to give _K'Vort_-class vessels one comparatively-small cargo hold for a vessel that size. With the two warships unable to hold as much latinum as the larger _K't'inga_- and _Vor'cha_-class cruisers in their fleet, it hadn't taken nearly as long to fill the Birds-of-Prey.

"Those _D'deridex_-class ships might be obsolete by modern standards," Seven of Nine reported from the aft Science station, "but they still possess sufficient firepower to destroy both _Hydra_ and _Gorgon_. Despite the small size of their cargo holds, I would not wish to calculate how much latinum would be lost if one or both were to be destroyed." Since they had left Starfleet behind, the ex-Borg had exchanged her uniform for a skintight maroon-colored jumpsuit that covered all but her head and hands.

Ron grimaced. "Thank you for reminding me. But need I point out that _our_ holds are full of containers of the stuff, too?" Kim had insisted that _Reliant_ be the first ship in the fleet to take on a load of the precious liquid metal from one of the asteroids in the small cluster nearby; thankfully, that particular rock hadn't had any volatile dilithium deposits to hamper their mining. They had just barely finished transporting in the last full container when the Romulan ships appeared.

"No; you do not."

"Good." Ron was nearly taken off his feet as a salvo of disruptor bolts smacked against the shields.

"Forward shields down to fifty-one percent. Our phasers are having little effect on the command ship." Sovak's report had lost any sense of relief that the arrival of their allies had brought him.

Ron moved to the rear of the bridge and stood next to the Vulcan. "Tell Riker to concentrate the fire of _Gorgon_ and _Hydra_ at one point on either of the warbirds; preferably right over the bridge, but I'll take whatever weakness he can find."

"He probably won't be able to do much damage."

"He doesn't have to; he just has to make them _think_ he can." Another tremor. Ron saw the indicator for the forward shields go from dull orange to bright red. "Alright; we can't hold back anymore. Target the command ship's weapons systems, bring the pulse cannons online, and fire as soon as you have a clear shot. Kim, bring us up and over them in as tight an arc as you can. With any luck, they won't be able to match us and will have to swing out."

The redhead nodded. "Will do, but why don't we use the multi-vector assault mode? We'd be able to hit them from multiple directions that way."

"That _would_ be a good idea," her blond lover replied, "if it weren't for the fact that none of us knows how to work the damned thing."

Shego raised an eyebrow that would have done any Vulcan proud. "Wait; so Starfleet sent you out in this ship without bothering to train you in how the systems worked?"

"Not quite." Ron scowled. "Josh was the only one who'd completed the training course."

"Oh, that's just _perfect_. We-" Whatever smartmouthed retort the green-skinned woman had died on her lips as another disruptor salvo slammed into the ship, nearly knocking her from her chair.

"Sovak..." Ron began.

"I know, I know; it's hard to get a good lock with these pulse cannons. They can't track like regular phasers. If the Romulans don't stay directly in front of us, I can't hit them." He rapidly pressed a series of controls as the _Valdore_-class vessel appeared on the main viewer. Several short, quick bursts of energy lanced out from _Reliant_, the rapidly-modulating frequencies of the blasts shredding the warbird's shields and slicing into the hull. Two rather large explosions followed as the starboard disruptor cannon became a ball of fire and a cloud of rapidly-expanding shrapnel. "Never mind."

The warbird listed to port, smoke and plasma billowing from the gaping hole in the side. "Warp engines are powering up; they're making a run for it!" Sovak reported.

Kim chimed in. "If they report us, we're dead."

"Noted." Ron replied. "Sovak, fire a photon torpedo. Give it just enough yield to bring their shields down, then target their power systems. I want them disabled, not destroyed."

"Aye, sir," the Vulcan said, tapping a command into his console. "Torpedo away."

The bridge crew watched as the antimatter warhead collided with the retreating ship. The shields of the warbird flared for an instant, then fizzled out. Ron didn't need instruments to know that their rear shields had just failed. "Fire phasers!"

Three pairs of crimson beams lanced out from _Reliant_'s saucer section, tearing through the hull and slicing into the cables, conduits, and circuits beneath the hull plates. A few seconds later, the ship was dead in space.

Ron smiled. "Nice shooting, Sovak. Transmit orders to surrender and prepare to be boarded."

"But, Ron," Kim interjected, "we don't have the _manpower_ to board them."

"But _they_ don't know that."

"Ya got me there."

"Message transmitted; all three vessels willingly surrender on the condition that you let them transport their wounded aboard for medical treatment."

"How many?"

"About two dozen."

"Shego, take a squad of security to Sickbay. Sovak, have the Romulans transported _directly_ to the triage area, and put a level ten forcefield in position." His two officers carried out his orders, Shego taking her _bat'leth _in hand as she stood up to leave the bridge.

A few minutes later, Shego's voice was heard over the comm system. "_We have a problem down here_."

"What?" Ron asked. "Medical staff can't handle Romulan physiology?"

"_The 'medical staff' consists of Dr. Nemo and a smartass hologram who won't listen to me because I'm not on the crew manifest!_"

"Oh boy. Patch me through."

A moment later, the voice of the Mark-II Emergency Medical Hologram replaced Shego's. "_Captain, I don't know what's going on around here, but I've got a sickbay full of Romulans and there's an Orion woman in Klingon armor trying to order me around like she's one of the crew!_"

"_ORION??? I'll decompile your database for that, you arrogant collection of photons!!!"_

Ron sighed. "Doctor, Shego isn't Orion. She's human. You can scan her later if you want to be sure, but she _is_ human _and_ part of this crew. And treat the Romulans; they just surrendered to us."

"_But Dr. Nemo and I can't handle this many casualties at once, and some of these have severe plasma burns that have to be treated immediately! My matrix was designed to _supplement_ the existing medical staff, not _be_ the medical staff! My program simply doesn't have the calibrations to deal with this!_"

The blond captain was getting _very_ annoyed with the holographic physician _very_ quickly. He was about to tell it just where it could stick those calibrations when Seven spoke up. "Then activate the _secondary_ EMH."

"_There is no 'secondary' EMH. If there were, _I_ would know about it!_"

"It is hidden within the backup system of the medical database. Scan for the program and load it."

Several seconds went by, then the EMH's voice was heard again; this time expressing shock and a bit of disgust. "_But that's just a Mark-I! What good could an antique like that _possibly_ do?_"

"Do it or I'll infest your holoemitters with nanoprobes, assimilate your program, and _make_ you do it."

A second later, a new voice was heard. "_Please state the nature of the medical emer...gen...cy... Where am I? This isn't _Voyager_. What's going on here_???"

"Doctor," Seven said, "there's no time to explain. Suffice to say, Admiral Janeway authorized the transfer of your program when she assigned me here and there are wounded in sickbay that need to be treated. I will give you more details later."

"_Alright. Mark-II, let's get started._"

"_Don't presume to order me around, you technological fossil! There's a_ reason _that Mark-I's are used for dilithium mining and exhaust manifold cleaning!_"

"_Haven't you ever heard of respecting your elders? I've accomplished medical feats that a youngster like you couldn't even_ dream _of!_"

"_Better to be young than obsolete!_"

"_I don't have to take this! I'm a doctor, not a punching bag!_"

By this time, Ron had had it. "_Will you two shut up and get to work already???? For the time being, you two are all the help Nemo's got and he can't afford to have you bickering!_" he yelled into the intercom.

A dual "Aye, captain," was heard from the EMHs, and the comm line went dead.

Kim shook her head. "And I thought _Shego_ could be dense sometimes."

"Tell me about it." Sovak replied. "I'd almost rather deal with the Romulans." Just then, the comm controls at his console lit up. "The rest of the fleet reports latimun collection complete. They are coming to our aid."

Ron rolled his eyes. "_Great_ timing. Tell them _not_ to fire when they get here; I think we just added to the fleet."

Ron sat in a chair in sickbay, his head in his hands. "Let me get this straight," he said to the Romulan fleet commander without looking at him, "your ships _aren't_ part of the Romulan military?"

"No," the commander said as the _Voyager_ EMH treated his fractured wrist. "We went AWOL from the fleet several days ago, when we heard of those deposits of latinum. We figured we could mine the asteroids, slip across the Neutral Zone, and use the latinum _and_ these ships to buy us safe passage into the Federation." He cringed a little, as if he hated what he was about to say. "The Romulan Empire is crumbling. After the death of the Praetor and Shinzon's takeover and subsequent defeat, factions began forming. The largest is centered around Commander Tomalak and Admiral Sela, and many see them as the next leaders of the Empire. But for my crew and I, the ease with which the Empire was flattened by a slave from the Reman mines was a wake-up call. We have lost any faith we still had."

Ron looked up. "_Still_ had? You were doubting them before?"

The commander nodded. "Several of my crew were members of Spock's reunification movement, and it didn't take long for all of us to join. Not everyone supports the pure and total logic of Surak, of course, but we _do_ believe that the only way for the Romulans to continue to survive is to rejoin our Vulcan bretheren and see the Federation as a friend, not a potential enemy."

Kim, who was sitting on a console near Ron, spoke up. "How'd you get your hands on a _Valdore_-class warbird? I would have figured only high-ranking fleet commanders would get them."

"Normally, yes. To be truthful, my crew and I had been assigned to five old Birds-of-Prey assigned to escort a low-priority convoy from Romulus to some colony worlds and back again. But we knew we would need more firepower to get out of Imperial space, so we waited for the right moment. The _Entrix_ – that's the _Valdore_-class ship – had just been completed at the shipyards around Romulus, and the _Aurabesh_ and _Zeramant_ had been undergoing repairs after the Shinzon incident. We waited until the warp engines, cloaking devices, and hulls were repaired, then stole all three ships. We barely had enough crew to run them, but we eventually got the weapons and shields online before arriving at the asteroid cluster and meeting you. I should not have fired on your ship; for that, I apologize. But I panicked; I thought that perhaps the Empire had found out about our plan and sent word to the Federation to hold us until they could arrive to arrest us. If we'd known that you were only after the latinum, we could have worked out a deal. I would still do that, if you're willing."

"What sort of 'deal'?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You take all the latinum you want – we'll even carry as much for you as our cargo holds can take. Help us get to Federation space, Starfleet can have the ships, their weapons and cloaking devices, any intel we may have – everything – _and_ the latinum in exchange for safe haven from the Empire."

Ron nervously scratched the back of his head. "About that...we're not exactly on good terms with Starfleet right now." He detailed how they had formed their pirate fleet and broke all ties with the Federation. "We don't have any sort of leverage with them, but _I_ can make you an offer."

"What's that?"

"Join our fleet. We'll help you repair the damage to your ships _and _watch your back while you fill your holds with the latinum. There's still plenty left in those rocks. After that, we'll head back across the Neutral Zone and head over to this planet called Liberty. We can cool our heels there for a while, resupply through some contacts of Kim's and then the Ferengi Commerce Guild will take the latinum off of our hands. They've already promised to take fifty percent back to Ferenginar to line their own pockets and will gold-press the remaining fifty percent for our own use in exchange for no questions asked _and_ the location of the source. If you've got any Romulan ale aboard your ships, we may be able to use that to give us extra leverage and maybe keep a larger percentage of the latinum."

The commander pondered this. "We have a few cases of ale. But what do _we_ do after this exchange is complete?"

"You can try to go to Starfleet and get your amnesty..." Shego began.

"...Or you can stay with us and live a life of plundering, pillaging, and raiding people like the Orions and other criminal syndicates in the galaxy."

The commander smiled. "Sounds like fun. I'll have to talk it over with my crew, but I think you can count on our support." He extended his hand. "I believe the appropriate human custom is a 'handshake' to, ah, 'seal the deal'?"

Ron grinned and accepted the offered hand. "Got it right on the first try. What's your name, by the way?"

"Artak."

"Well, Artak, welcome to a life of piracy."

Shego waited for Kim in the corridor outside Sickbay. She waved the redhead over. "Kim...may I ask you something?"

Kim smiled. "You can ask me anything; we've never had secrets from each other and never will." She paused. "It's about Ron, isn't it?"

"Yes. Namely, why you handed the fleet over to him. Sure, he's got a bigger ship, but our cruisers were an equal match. Some of your crew are wondering if you are thinking clearly."

Kim knew where this was going. "Including you."

The green-skinned woman cast her gaze downward. "I do not like to ask, but I have to know - did you do it just to get back into his bed?"

"No. I can't explain it, but it just felt right. Ron's been through the Academy, and I washed out in my second year. And you saw how willing his crew was to stand by him as he stole one of Starfleet's best ships out from under their nose. They'll follow him to Hell and back, Shego...he's got what it takes to lead."

Shego started to elt her anger show. "And you _don't_? You started this fleet and kept us going before he _ever_ showed up!"

The redhead gritted her teeth. "I didn't hear you objecting when we first did this."

"I didn't hear _you_ objecting in Ruby's hotel, either, but _that_ relationship didn't last!"

Kim flinched.

Realizing how sharply her words had stung, Shego bowed her head. "I apologize. I went too far."

"Yes; you did." Kim replied. "I don't regret that night, Shego; it helped put things into perspective. And they're _still_ in perspective. Ron is our leader now, and if you or anyone else has a problem with that...you can all get off at Liberty and we'll move on without you. Although, I would had to lose one of my best officers...and my best friend."

Shego shook her head. "I'm not going to leave your side, and neither is anyone else. You've won our loyalty and our respect many times over...I just needed to be sure that _yours_ was well-placed. Your convictions are strong, and that's enough for me. I'll inform the crew that there are to be no more discussions of this." She bowed, then started to walk away.

Kim called after her. "Shego!"

Her one-time lover turned around. "What?"

"Thanks for caring."

Shego walked away without another word.

A little over one standard week later, after taking on as much latinum as they could possibly carry and carrying out repairs to the ships, the ragtag fleet of Federation, Klingon, and Romulan vessels dropped out of warp near the planet Liberty. Ron, Kim, Artak, Shego, and Sovak went down to the planet's surface to negotiate with Ruby for additional supplies.

Ruby looked over the list of what they needed. "Most of this I can get readily enough, but some of these components aren't going to be easy to come by. I could probably get them from the Ferengi or the Orions, but the quality will be suspect. I know a few smugglers who can get Federation tech, but its risky. Costs extra, too."

Ron smirked, then put a vial on the counter. "I think we've got enough."

"This...this is..." Ruby said, popping the cap on the tube.

"Latinum." Kim said. "There's about five hundred bricks' worth in your hand there, and _plenty_ more where _that_ came from."

"I'll get in touch with my contacts right away." She eyed the vial. "Of course, there _is_ my finder's fee."

"Keep it," Ron said with a wave of his hand. "As Kim said, we've got plenty."

After Ruby left, Kim smiled slyly and ran her fingers up and down Ron's arm. "You know, it's going to take her a while to get back to us with a report, and with all that latinum we just gave her, I doubt she'd begrudge us a room for an hour or two."

"Booyah." Ron said as he let Kim lead him upstairs.

Artak chuckled. "I'm going to return to my ship. I have not slept much since the repairs started." He tapped the bird-shaped commbadge on his tunic twice, then disappeared in a green swirl of energy.

"Is it wise to let him return alone?" Shego asked Sovak. "He could order his men to attack."

Sovak shook his head and took another sip of his _raktajino_. "He _could_, but he _won't_. Artak is too much like us. He likes his freedom, and he knows that we'd hunt him throughout the cosmos if he did something like that. And besides, it's not easy to hide three Romulan warships in Federation space. He's better off sticking with us."

Shego sighed. "I suppose you're right."

A moment later, several soft moans followed by a loud shriek emanated from one of the bedrooms. "It appears that our captain is quite skilled in matters _other_ than piloting a starship."

Shego sighed once more. "I don't want to think about it. I'm just glad that the rooms on the ship are soundproof." She flinched a little as another scream, much higher pitched than the last one, echoed through the building.

Sovak's face took on a lopsided, somewhat-cocky grin as he gently laid his hand on Shego's. "Since we have nothing better to do, shall we see if we can drown out our captain?"

The green-skinned woman's hand flipped up, grabbed the Vulcan's, and squeezed it in a vice-like grip almost before he could blink. "If you _ever_ attempt to approach me like that again, you pointy-eared pervert, I'll make sure you don't have the body parts to worry about the _Pon'Farr_ ever again, _got me_?"

Sovak merely smiled. "Of course, my dear." She released his hand, he finished his drink, then stood up. "I shall be certain to approach you in _different_ ways from now on." He tapped his commbadge and beamed back to _Reliant_ before she could say anything else.

The countertop cracked when Shego's fist slammed down onto it. _I'm starting to see why Vulcans embraced logic so long ago,_ she thought. _They're insufferable when they show emotion!_

In another sector of the Alpha Quadrant, a very bored Ferengi called Rulk sat at the monitoring station in the control room of a salvage yard. As the chief of the yard, he was entitled to a crew to do the drudge work for him, but this was a rather unimportant collection of abandoned ships. They were all old, most of them could not even be repaired because parts were no longer made, and it hardly ever got any busines. As a result, Rulk's station had received one budget cut after another, forcing him to fire his crewmen or transfer them to other stations. Even with just him, the cost of operation was almost greater then the return gain.

Fact of the matter was, he was almost beyond caring save that this job kept him fed and gave him a bed to sleep in. He was the third son of twelve in a rather wealthy shipping family and, seeing as how his two older brothers had started their own joint business venture, the legality of which was always in dispute, he had expected to inherit his father's company. Unfortunately for Rulk, that kind of luck he didn't have much of. Before his death, the old man had gone senile, and the youngest brother, barely of age himself, had tricked him into rewriting the will so that _he_ got everything, leaving the rest of the family destitute. Now, years later, Rulk had no wife, no children, and no home other than his quarters on the station.

_Damn you, Brunt!_ he silently cursed for the millionth, but certainly not the last, time. _You could have at least left me the tool shed to sleep in! At least then I would still be on Ferenginar instead of this junkpile of a station that should have been recycled before most of those antiques out there were ever built!_

Rulk checked his chronometer. It was almost time to shut down the station. Ideally, he would have three shifts working around the clock to maintain a vigil over the "merchandise", but he was getting old and was only one Ferengi, so he worked one shift by himself and set the station's proximity sensors to alert him in case any ships entered the area or sent any communication signals.

Sighing, he decided to clock off early and get some sleep. As he busied himself with activating the automated systems, he failed to notice the tiny, three-meter long metal shape, barely big enough to be considered an escape pod, drifted into the mass of derelicts. It drifted close to one ship in particular, one of the newest on the lot, not that that was saying much. The target was an old Bolian freighter – a small one, barely large enough for a crew of three or four and equipped with a cargo hold not much larger than a two-person civilian shuttlepod - that had obviously seen better days. As the pod neared the freighter, it used a tiny maneuvering thruster to change trajectory. It was much, but enough to be detected by Rulk's equipment.

The Ferengi looked over at his snsor screen, the pod now targeted by the station's scanners. He pressed his comm button and spoke. "Attention, unidentified craft. This is Attendant Rulk of Salvage Yard Three-Twelve. You are trespassing in Ferengi space. Please state your business."

But there was no reply. The pod inched closer to the docking hatch of the freighter, the large doors opened and allowed the pod inside, then Rulk's sensor board showed life support and engines being activated. He repeated his transmission, and this time there was a reponse.

The image on his screen was rather fuzzy, though whether due to the freighter's old comm system or the station's equally-ancient one he could not know, but Rulk was able to make out a bearded human male with a rather odd hairstyle sitting in the control chair of the ship.

"Sorry, mate, but I need this ship, and you've got plenty more here."

"Yes, but these are for _sale!_ This is a salvage yard, not a charity station!"

"Well, then , allow _me_ to claim this under salvage law and I'll be on my way."

"But you just can't take it! There are forms to be filled out, ownership to be transferred, a monetary or material exchange for ths ship..." Before he could finish, the image winked out. A minute later, he watched helplessly as the ship streaked off into warp.

"I'm going to lose my job for this," was the only thing he could say.

Kathryn Janeway sat at her desk at Starfleet headquarters, telling Jim Kirk and Chancellor Martok what she had heard from Starfleet Intelligence. "In short, gentlemen, someone unassociated with Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, or any of their crew has just stolen Possible's old ship out of Ferengi impound. I don't think this is coincidence."

"Neither do I," Martok growled. "According to this report, the thief went _right_ for that ship. Whoever it was wanted it for a reason, and my guess is he's going to try and bait Possible or extort something from her, though I cannot speculate beyond that."

Kirk set down his coffee mug. "Did you ever stop to think that Miss Possible might have hired this person to get her old ship back?"

Janeway shook her head. "That's not her style. Especially not with this new fleet. Did you know that they have three _Romulan_ ships with them now?" Both men shook their heads. "I'm starting to think this project is getting out of hand. Stoppable's fleet is growing beyond what we intended, and he may bring even more into his fold. I'm not sure we can contain this."

"Our goal was to _not_ contain it." Kirk said. "That was the entire point. Have some 'rogues' out there to handle what we can't officially touch. And you have Seven of Nine aboard just in case things start to go wrong."

"Seven is resourceful, but even she has her limits. If Stoppable starts an interstellar incident, even we won't be able to help him." She took another sip of her coffee and winced. _It took me seven years to get _Voyager_'s replicator to make coffee right. It looks like it'll take at least that long for me to train _this_ one._ "Do we have any data on the man who stole the freighter?"

Martok nodded and set a padd on the desk. "He is wanted by the Federation, Bajorans, Trill, Ferengi, Orions, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Breen, Tholians, Saurians, Gorn, Venturi, and virtually every other sentient species in this area of space for various acts of piracy as well as illegal soliciting, aiding and abetting known criminals, running illegal gambling operations...the list of charges would take up almost as much space as the Federation Charter."

"Do we have a name or just a list of aliases?" the admiral asked. Martok pressed a button on the padd, displaying the man's image and name. Janeway took a deep breath. "Gentlemen...Miss Possible is in worse trouble than we thought."

"Then you're going to have to play your trump card. Contact Seven and have her warn them." Kirk said.

But Janeway didn't agree. "I do that now and the whole operation will be blown. They have nine capital ships; they _should_ be able to handle a single pirate."

"Then why don't you sound convinced?" Martok asked.

"Because I'm _not_. This man is one of the worst con artists in the quadrant. He could charm a Jem'Hadar out of his ketracel white and sell sand to the Mount Selaya priests all in the same sentence. I can only hope that someone on those ships can recognize him if they see him. Otherwise, this entire web we've weaved is going to be shredded by a _very_ large fly."

Commander Joshua Mankey sat in a dirty, smoke-filled tavern on the burned-out world of Char. Centuries ago, Char had been a thriving industrial center, rich in minerals, fossil fuels, and manufacturing facilities. But its atmosphere had been polluted to the point where breathing gear was needed outside the structures, all of its resources had dried up, food, water and other necessities for living had to be imported, and the only money that came in was from the pirates, smugglers, bounty hunters, and other such riffraff that frequented the planet.

Mankey was in a dark corner in civilian clothing, wearing a hooded jacket that, he hoped, concealed his face. He had been there for more than an hour, and was starting to get worried. He ordered a drink to keep up appearances, but the foul-smelling brew in the mug was certainly losing more to evaporation than him drinking it. _They should have been here by now. If they got caught, this whole operation is done, and my career with it!_

A few minutes later, two cloaked figures entered the bar and made their way to his booth after removing their breather masks. They sat down and the shorter one pulled his hood back. "Commander, I'm sorry we're late. The ship's warp drive malfunctioned."

"Not surprising, given its age. Well done, Lieutenant Du. You've gathered all the pieces we'll need."

The other man spoke, his heavy British accent unmistakable. "You _still_ haven't told me exactly where I fit into this. I stole the ship for you, but I have the feeling that's not _all_ I'm going to have to do to earn that pardon _or_ the credits you promised, and I _do_ need them. I have some rather large plans for my future."

Mankey nodded. "You are going to track down the woman who used to own that ship. Use it as bait to draw her in, capture her, and bring her to me. With her, we can bring the _rest_ of them in."

The man removed his hood and nodded. "I'm with ya, mate. Who's the target?" Mankey showed him her image on a padd. "Not bad. Any 'perks' to this assignment?"

"You are not to touch her. Just hold her for me. The rest _I_ will take care of. Understand?"

"Perfectly. When do I start?"

"Right now."

Shego paced back and forth in her quarters. She was bored. Her armor was laid out on her bed, and she was allowing herself the rare freedom of being nude. In her quarters, she could let her guard down a little, especially on this ship. She didn't have to worry about anyone trying to kill her while she was without her protective garments. Shego had always felt more relaxed when she was naked, though it did not help much today.

_Two weeks we've been here. Two entire weeks. And Ruby says it will take another for her suppliers to get here. And who know _how_ long it will take for the blasted Ferengi to get here and help us get rid of this latinum. Without the ships going anywhere, Kim and Stoppable don't even go on the bridge anymore. They're always in his quarters, and anyone with a single brain cell can figure out what they're up to._ She slammed her right fist into her left palm in frustration. _As much as I know I have to, I just can't let her go. I should challenge him for her, but it wouldn't do any good. Regardless of whether I won or not, she would stay with him. I cannot say I lost her love because I never _had_ it to begin with. She allowed me only that one night; a night she should not have given me. I had prayed it wouldn't, but as cherished a time as it was for me, it is becoming a scar on my heart which I fear will never heal._

As much as she liked the privacy of her rooms, she knew she couldn't stay in there. She had locked herself away for the past two days and even being free of clothing for that time did not help her relax. She had slept, but not truly rested. Her dreams were haunted by that red-haired spacefaring goddess she had dared to fall in love with, and it seemed as though it was a phantom that would never go away.

Sighing in resignation, she started to reach for her armor, but decided against it. She'd been naked for too long to want to think about putting the heavy garment on again at that point. Rummaging around in the various drawers, she found a Starfleet-issue grey tank top that was loose enough to conceal her ample chest and a pair of tight black workout shorts. She found no footwear and had no desire to put on her boots, which she was uncomfortably aware were in bad need of cleaning and deodorizing, so she clipped her commbadge to the shirt and left her quarters barefoot.

She made her way down the nearly-empty corridors and was uncomfortably aware of just how large the ship was. If you included the two holographic doctors, there were a grand total of forty crewmembers on the ship. It was designed to handle almost a thousand comfortably, and she knew that only the massive level of automation in the ship allowed so few to operate it.

As she walked, she found the thick blue carpet covering the floor quite comfortable. Most Klingons hated any sort of comfort, as they saw it as a weakness, but Shego was a human and found herself enjoying the sensation of the carpet on her bare feet. She had walked these corridors many times before, but always in her heavy boots. This was the first time she'd left her quarters without her armor, and she wished she'd done it sooner. She paused a moment, smiling a little as her feet sank nearly an inch in the carpet. _The simple pleasures,_ she reflected, _can often change one's mood drastically._ She had originally intended merely to walk around the deck in which her quarters were located, as a way to clear her head, but now she changed direction. She headed for the turbolift and gave the command to take her to the ship's holodeck.

Most Starfleet ships, even as small as the _Intrepid_-class, contained two holodecks, but the _Reliant_ and other ships like it were primarily warships and had little in the way of recreational tools. The lone holodeck on ships of that class were primarily intended for training and tactical simulations. Shego had used it a few times to blow off steam, slicing up mugato and other holographic beasties with her _bat'leth_, but today she had a different idea in mind. As she exited the turbolift, she did her best to avoid the raised eyebrow and lecherous grin she received from Sovak as she brushed past him. _It's been too long since I took a walk through a forest,_ she thought. _Not since the one time I went to Risa to meet than Andorian trader and he ended up no-showing._ She had two days before she was supposed to rendesvouz with Kim, so she had decided to enjoy herself and spent her time in one of the planet's rich, green forests. She'd never felt so peaceful.

_And this time,_ she thought gleefully, _I can lock the doors, get rid of these clothes,and just relax._ As she approached the holodeck door, she looked at the control panel and saw that a program was already running. Her mood turned sour. _So much for relaxation,_ she thought. She was about to head back to her quarters when curiosity got the better of her. Finding the door, unlocked, the went in and was startled by what she saw.

In the middle of a luxurious spa carved out of solid rock, complete with steaming natural hot springs, Seven of Nine was facedown on a padded table, naked save for a towel covering her backside, getting her back expertly massaged by a holographic Vulcan female with very short black hair, pale skin, and a barely-there black bikini swimsuit. Hearing the door open, Seven opened her eyes. "Miss Shego."

"Seven." Nothing else was said for a moment.

"Is there a reason you are here?"

"I...I was going to use the holodeck."

"That is obvious. I was asking what you intended to use it _for_."

Shego sighed. "If you must know, I was feeling restless and decided that a walk in a forest would help to calm me down."

"It is most unusual to see you without your armor."

"Just because I'm proud of my Klingon upbringing doesn't mean I _like_ being wrapped in leather and tritanium every second of my life." She relaxed her tone of voice before continuing. "Sometimes, even _I_ need to relax and just let go."

"I see." Seven craned her head around to look at the hologram. "A little lower, T'Vel."

Shego crossed her arms over her chest. "I answered _your_ questions, now tell me what _you're_ doing here."

"I am receiving a massage."

"I can _see_ that. What I want to know is _why_."

Seven closed her eyes again. "Since the bed in my quarters has been equipped with the ability to regenerate my nanoprobes without rendering me unconscious, I have been attemtping to 'sleep' as humans do. I am finding it a unique experience, but my back is unaccustomed to the practice. Dr. Nemo suggested that I try massage therapy for one hour before and after each duty shift rather than being inundated with painkillers every day."

Shego nodded once. "Hard to argue with that." She turned and started to leave. "I'll leave you alone then."

"Wait." Seven said, sitting up on the table, allowing the towel to fall away to reveal most of her bare body. The holographic masseuse ceased her actions. "You came here to use the holodeck. It would be rather...selfish of me to force you to leave. You may join me here. I will program another masseuse. It will help you to relax."

Shego found herself trying hard _not_ to look at the ex-Borg's supple, curvaceous body. Aside from her left hand and over her ocular implant, there were no other external implants on her flawless form. "No. No, that's alright. I will..." She was cut off by Seven standing up and slowly walking over to her.

"Despite your obvious feelings for Possible," Seven said, "I have seen the way you look at me."

Shego snarled. "Most of the _ship_ looks at you that way! The way _you_ walk it's almost like you're _begging_ someone to ravish you! And the heels on those boots certainly don't do anything to lessen that effect!" She snorted. "And what about those clothes of yours? I wasn't aware that you could be _poured_ into an uniform!"

"My biosuits were designed for me by _Voyager_'s EMH to facilitate quicker regeneration of my dermal layers after the Borg implants were removed. Over time, I became...accustomed to them. I wear them instead of my uniform for that reason...but not _only_ that reason."

"Oh? And what _other_ possible excuse can you have for dressing like that?"

"I am trying to attract a potential mate for sexual intimacy."

Shego snarled. "Do you have to be so _blunt_ about it?"

"I was under the impression that Klingons were among the more sexually active species in the galaxy."

"Just because I was mostly raised by Klingons _doesn't_ mean I share all of their ideals, and just because you blatantly advertise what you want _doesn't_ mean you'll get it! Most people don't _want_ to get involved with someone so...so...so..."

"I believe that the term you are looking for is 'easy'." Seven said flatly.

"Exactly!" Shego said. "Intimacy and 'mating' aren't the same thing, Seven! If there isn't emotion behind it, it's hollow and meaningless. You have to _care_ about the person you're with or...or..." She noticed that the ex-Borg was slowly walking towards her. "Seven, what are you doing?"

Seven didn't stop. "I told you that I was trying to attract a potential mate. I never said _which_ one." When she was standing directly in front of the green skinned woman, she stopped, looking her in the eye. "I have had only one other relationship before, and it ended badly. I have since tried to avoid any romantic entanglements. However, after meeting you, it became more and more difficult to remain that way. I cannot say that I 'love' you, as such, but I am willing to give this a chance if you are."

"Wh-what makes you think I'm interested in you?" Shego stammered.

"Your heart rate has increased, your breathing has become irregular, and there is increased blood flow to your face resulting in discoloration."

_Damn it!_ Shego thought. _Why can't I just get out of here? Who knows what she'll try to do to me?_ Then, unbidden, another voice entered her head. _Would that really be so bad? Your relationship with Kim has changed. You're still friends, but that's all you'll ever be. Somehow, you _knew_ that that was all you would ever be. Would giving in to Seven be so bad?_

Shego couldn't answer. Seven reached up, cupping Shego's cheek in her hand. She leaned forward and placed a feather-light kiss on the other woman's lips.

_I can't do this!_ Shego's mind screamed. _I can't let her just..._take_ me like this!But...then again...that time with Kim was the first in a long time, and..._ Shego cut herself off and looked the Borg right in the eye. "What if...what if we go through with this, and I decide I want nothing further to do with you?"

"Then that is your decision. However," she placed her hands on Shego's hips. "I do not believe you will do that. Computer, remove masseuse and lock the door. Key to my voice and security code only."

"Acknowledged," the computer responded.

Shego drew herself in closer and lightly kissed Seven's jaw. She looked into the blond's eyes and said, "Resistance is futile."

Seven offered a small smile. "Resisting never occurred to me." She gripped the hem of Shego's top and found it quite easy to pull over the other woman's head. Shego pulled Seven closer, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Though he could not enter the holodeck without overriding Seven's lockout, Sovak could hear the two women on the other side of the door. He shook his head and sighed. "I guess you either have to be a rogue Starfleet captain or get assimilated to get any women around here. Some people have all the luck." He walked back down the corridor, idly wondering if there were any females in the Romulan crew.

A week later, Shego had left her quarters on Deck 3. Her belongings amounted only to her armor, _bat'leth _and_ D'k'tagh_, a disruptor pistol, and the clothing that had been packed into the drawers and closet before the ship had left _Starbase One_, so it had not taken much time or effort to move into Seven of Nine's quarters on Deck Six. No-one had said much regarding their relationship, but Shego didn't mind. She'd gotten a congratulatory hug from Kim, with the redhead saying that she was glad Shego had found someone with Ron echoing the statement, but that was it.

_They probably figure it wouldn't be a good idea to annoy us,_ Shego thought as she lay in bed one night. Her new lover was asleep next to her, her pale back and hair lightly touching Shego's green-skinned arm. _I'll never know what possessed me to give in to this woman, but I'm glad I did. Something like this is what I've needed for a long time. Anything I might have had with Kim would have been one-sided. But this woman genuinely cares for me, and I can't deny that she does make me happy. Maybe I've found the one for me._

She closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep when the ship's intercom flared to life with Ron's voice. "_All hands, report to Shuttlebay 1.Supply ship incoming._"

"Great," Shego said, climbing out of bed and reaching for her armor. "Seven, wake up. We're going to be moving out soon."

A few minutes later, the entire crew was assembled around the shuttle bay, watching the supply ship come in. It was one of nine ships, no two of the same class and each one heading for a different ship in their fleet. On board these ships were weapons, computer and engine parts, spare bulkheads, food supplies, bio-neural gel packs for _Reliant_, and raw material stocks for the replicators. Nearly a year's worth of supplies. Trailing the supply fleet were the two Ferengi vessels that would carry away the lion's share of the latinum and gold-press the rest for the pirate fleet. Ron and Kim had decided against hiring on any more crew, as Artak had brought enough with him to fill in the extra positions on the Klingon vessels without sacrificing anything on the warbirds. "And besides," Kim said, "the fewer we have working for us, the more each individual person gets."

It took the next twelve hours to load up all of the supplies and give the merchants their latinum. The Ferengi offered to gold-press the traders' profits for ease of transport...for a small percentage, of course. When these transactions were complete, the remaining containers of latinum, along with Ron, Artak, and Riker, were transported to the Ferengi ships. Thanks to the ale provided by the Romulans, they came away with more gold-pressed latinum than the original deal stated. When all was said and done, the trading had taken a little more than twenty-four standard hours and the crews of all nine ships in the pirate fleet becoming exhausted due to pulling a two double-shifts, but the cargo holds were overflowing with supplies.

In their shared quarters, Kim cuddled up to Ron's back. They had taken some time to "celebrate" before turning in for the night, but they were feeling too anxious to sleep.

"Hey, Kim," Ron said without turning around.

"What?"

"I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Renaming the ship. And maybe the Romulan ships, too."

"Why?"

He rolled over to face her. "I've just been thinking that we need to give the fleet a uniform nomenclature. Have all of their names share a comon motif, you know? And besides, _Reliant_ is the name Starfleet gave this ship, and it's not a Starfleet vessel anymore. No more than those warbirds are Imperial ships now."

"I get it. So, what did you have in mind?" He told her what he had in mind. "Sounds good to me. Talk it over with Artak and see what he says."

The blond captain kissed his lover on the forehead. "You're always going to be by my side, aren't you?"

Kim nodded. "In everything." She placed a hand on his cheek. "You know...I'm not _really_ sleepy right now."

"Neither am I," Ron replied.With a smirk, he rolled over on top of her.

Meanwhile, Seven and Shego were on the holodeck. At Shego's urging, they had created a forest setting and were laying on their backs beneath a stand of trees. They had shed most of their clothing, leaving them only in tight workout shorts. A fair amount of simulated sunlight was coming through the trees, and to the two women, it was every bit as good as the real thing.

Seven had her lover's right hand clasped in her left, the green contrasting with her own pale skin, and the ex-Borg could not help but allow herself a small smile. _I know it's not very efficient to be involved in a romantic relationship in the line of duty. Especially given the nature of my mission here. I've been down this road before. And yet...being with her has made these last few days enjoyable. More enjoyable than any other time in my life. I can't keep my true mission from her. Sooner or later, she's going to find out. Should I worry about that when the time comes, or do something about it now?_

Her train of thought was derailed by Shego suddenly rolling over, pressing their chests together. "Hi, lover."

Seven smiled again. "Hello yourself."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Us." Seven was able to say that truthfully, at least. "And our future."

Shego smiled. "I think our future will take care of itself. I was miserable for a while after Kim made her choice, but I think it worked out for the best. She's with the one she loves, and I think I found a _new_ love."

"We've only been together for a short time. Can you say that for certain."

"I'm not sure." She kissed her blond lover. "But I'd like to find out."

"As would I. It should be an...interesting research project."

Shego grinned and rubbed her hands along Seven's belly. "Well, I think we could stand to do a little _more_ research in that area."

"I concur."

The next day, Ron and Kim met with Artak on the bridge of the _Entrix_. Ron was explaining his idea to rename the rest of the fleet, and the Romulan commander seemed to agree. "These warbirds will be conspicuous no matter _what_ we call them, but with that kind of naming scheme, eventually our ships would be recognized instantly. Depending on our reputation, we might be able to get wat we're after without firing a shot."

"Could happen," Ron said. "So, you're okay with this?"

Artak shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be? _Entrix_ is a stupid name anyway. It's named after a winged insect that drains the blood from other creatures. I believe you have a counterpart on Earth; the mosquito."

"Yeah – this ship's due for a name change, alright." Kim said.

"So, what name did you have in mind?" Artak asked Ron.

Ron just grinned and said, "You'll see."

An hour later, the _Reliant_ and the trio of warbirds had had their computers reprogrammed by Seven of Nine to broadcast entirely different transponder codes, complete with new names. On the monitors, Ron could see Shego leading a half-dozen other cremembers, all of them in vac-suits, removing the _Reliant_ name and Starfleet registry numbers from the hull.

"How long are they going to be out there?" Kim asked.

"Shouldn't take them more than a couple of hours to do both sides of the saucer. After that, they'll come in and a second shift will put the new name on the hull. Romulan ships don't have external markings, so Artak's group should be taken care of. His people are going to go over the computers again to make sure there aren't any errors, but Seven is quite thorough."

Kim wrapped an arm around his waist and asked, "This was more than just getting rid of the last remnants of Starfleet on this ship and making the fleet more uniform, isn't it?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I think it's an ownership thing. This is _your_ ship now, and you want to broadcast it to the galaxy."

"Looks like you caught me, KP."

"Hey – no big. I understand. Remember, I renamed the ships I took from the Klingons."

By the end of the day, all Federation markings had been stripped from the ship's hull, replaced with those Ron had chosen. In addition, all of the computer screens in the fleet, rather than displaying the Federation, Klingon, or Romulan logos in their standby modes, were now programmed to show a pyramid-shaped stack of latinum bricks with two crossed phaser rifles beneath it – the symbol Ron had chosen for his pirate crew.

"Fleet status." Rons aid, settling into his command chair with Kim on his right and Shego to his left. With the new crew members, Felix and Carmen had returned to their positions at the helm and ops stations.

"Artak reports that the _Entrix_ has been successfully renamed the _Phoenix_, and the other warbirds report successful changes to _Griffin_ and _Centaur_."

"And our ship?"

"All alterations are complete. The new markings are in place, and the computers now register this ship as the _Cerberus_." He smiled. "We are ready to deploy."

Ron mirrored the smile. For the first time, he truly felt that it was _his_ ship. _He_ gave the orders, _he_ had chosen the name...it was _his_, and he would fight anyone who tried to take it from him. "Felix, set course two one nine mark four eight five mark zero zero four. Warp Six."

"Course laid in, engines ready, coordinates transmitted to the rest of the fleet." Felix replied a moment later.

Kim was puzzled. "Ron, why are we going to the Sargasso asteroid field? There's nothing there."

Ron looked shocked. "Kim, I'd have figured that _you_, of all people, would know about Blue Heaven."

"Why?"

"Because," Ron said, grinning, "Blue Heaven is built inside the largest asteroid in the Sargasso field. It's like Risa for pirates and smugglers. You can get anything you want there, for the right price, no questions asked. And what better place to pick up rumors of new treasures to be had?"

"What ifd those treasures already belong to someone else?" the redhead asked slyly.

Ron just grinned. "Kimmie, dear, did you forget that we're _pirates_?"

"Not at all," she said, kissing him.

Ron broke the kiss just long enough to say "Engage,", then returned to his lover's lips just as _Cerberus_ went into warp.

Two days later, they were almost within hailing distance of Blue Heaven when they received a weak distress signal from three sectors over.

"Can we get a visual?" Ron asked.

"Negative," Sovak replied from Tactical. "The ship appears to be badly damaged. The signal is audio only."

"Let me hear it." A heavily-distorted voice with a thick English accent came over their speakers.

"_-eat,_ _this is the -erchant ship _Konpira Maru_. Attacked by Cardas---- warship. Hit – plasma reg-lator. ---elds d-wn, li-- supp--t fa---ing. An- ship in r-nge, please respo--._"

"Sounds like he's in trouble." Shego said.

Kim nodded. "Merchant ships tend to run heavily armed. And for good reason – they carry a lot of goods, sometimes even latinum and weapons."

"Whatever hit them must have been fairly large. _Galor_-class, perhaps." Seven said. "And they may still be in the area. However, I do not believe that they would be a match for us."

Ron thought for a moment, then said, "Felix, lock onto the source of the transmission and set new course, best possible speed. Tell the other ships to follow."

"Aye, captain."

"Well," Ron said, looking over to Shego, "we either get what's on the ship, or we get to raid a Cardassian warship. I don't see a down side here."

Shego grinned wickedly. "Today is a bad day to die – _if_ you're a Cardassian."

When they reached the source of the distress call, they saw a tiny image, trailing plasma, on the viewscreen. "Magnify." Ron ordered.

When Sovak enhanced the image, Kim's jaw fell open. "It can't be..."

"Can't be what?" Ron asked.

"That ship," Shego said, as Kim fumed in rage, "is the _Impossible Dream_."

"Kim's old ship? But I thought the Ferengi had it."

"Things have _obviously_ changed." Kim snapped. "Sovak, scan for any Cardassian ships or warp signatures in the area. Shego, you're with me. We're going over there." She started to get out of her seat when Ron stopped her.

"Can't let you. I've got security officers that can handle this. I can't risk you getting hurt."

"Ron," she said, placing her hand on his, "what's the one thing we've always had for each other?"

"Trust?" he asked.

"Exactly. And, right now, I'm asking you to trust me to handle myself."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll trust you." She started to get up, but he stopped her once again. "I'll trust you, that is, as long as Shego, Seven, and I go with you. This _may_ be a trap, Kim. It's just a little _too_ convenient to suddenly see your old ship out here in the middle of nowhere, don't you think?"

Kim nodded reluctantly. "You're right. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

"Happens to all of us. Let's get down to the armory. Sovak, send a message to that ship telling them we're coming aboard."

Five minutes later, the four were transported over to the old freighter, each armed with a fully-charged phaser compression rifle and hand phaser. Shego, as usual, had her _bat'leth _and a second sidearm in the form of a Klingon disruptor pistol. It was dimly lit and many components were obviously damaged. Seven puleld out a tricorder, but only an odd buzzing sound came from it. "Something is interfering with my scans, most likely background radiation. Fairly consistent with Cardassian weaponry, but hardly conclusive." She folded the tricorder and swung her rifle into a forward position. "I recommend we proceed with caution."

"Agreed." Ron said. "Eyes open, people. Kim, you know this ship better than any of us. Get us to the bridge." Kim did as ordered, picking her way past obstacles such as overturned crates, loose cables, and one jammed door that took all four of them to push open. When they reached the bridge, they found a man unconscious on the floor.

"Anyone you know, Kim?" Ron asked.

His lover shook her head. "No; I haven't seen him before." She reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out a medical hypo and pressed it to thee man's neck, injecting the stimulant into his bloodstream with a faint _hiss_.

He slowly woke up, blinking his eyes several times, then rising to a seated position. "Well, hello," he said. His was the same voice from the distress signal. He looked over the three women appreciatively. "And I mean it when I say that this is the loveliest rescue party I believe I have ever seen." He climbed to his feet and clasped Seven's right hand in both of his. "Name's Smith. And you are...?"

"She's taken." Shego said, angrily pulling his hands from Seven's. Smith walked over to the control console and began pressing buttons. Shego took an instant disliking to the man. From his smooth-talking ways to his more-than-slightly effeminate movements to his incredibly-old, scruffy, cracked boots, faded pants, ruffled shirt, gaudy jewelry, which included beads in his braided hair and goatee, and antique-style tri-pointed hat, he looked to be one of the more unsavory characters she had ever met, and _that_ was saying something.

Kim gripped his shoulder and spun him around. "Alright; we've got nine ships parked outside. Whoever attacked you isn't likely to come back. We saved you, now answer a question."

"And what would that be, love?"

"Okay – call me that again and you'll _wish_ the Cardassians had you. Now, tell me how in the seven layers of Hell did you get ahold of _my_ ship???"

Smith looked taken aback. "_Your_ ship? I got this from a Ferengi salvage yard. They didn't ask me much for it, either. It was a genuine steal, really."

"I'll bet, seeing as how _they_ stole it from _me_ in the first place, and I want it _back_." The barrel of her phaser rifle was not-so-subtly pointed at the man's gut.

He threw his hands up. "The last thing I want is a ventilated stomach. You want the ship? It's yours. Just get me to Omicron Colony and you can _have_ it. I thought I could make me a good living running cargo, but just my luck that my first run was interrupted."

"We'll need to repair these engines before this ship's going anywhere." Ron said. Seven, go to the engine room and see what you can do. Shego, see about getting the shields back online. I'll stay here with Kim."

As the two women departed, Kim and Ron sat down in the two chairs at the ships controls, swiveling them to face one another and keep an eye on Smith. Ron couldn't put his finger on it, but something was odd about the man, and Ron did _not_ like odd. "So, what happened to you, exactly?"

"Well, I just got the ship back in working order and was on my way to the Omicron Colony to pick up a shipment of synthetic bloodstone crystals from a manufacturer. They aren't worth much as far as jewelry goes, but some people like to use them in laser cutters. Anyway, I was just minding my own business when these Orions drop out of warp and..."

"Wait a minute," Ron interrupted. "Your distress signal said you were attacked by _Cardassians_." He tightened his grip on his rifle.

Smith appeared somewhat fluistered. "Well, these ships all look alike to me sometimes, and I was hardly in a position to get every detail right."

At that moment, Seven's voice came over Ron's commbadge. "_Seven of Nine to Captain Stoppable._"

He tapped the badge. "Stoppable here. Go ahead."

"_Captain, these engines have been damaged, but _not_ by outside attack. The plasma regulator was taken offline, the lines disconnected, and the warp core shut down. The plasma we saw coming from the ship's nacelles is being pumped out intentionally._"

Kim and Ron's eyes widened. They raised their rifles up, but Smith bolted for the door, sealing it behind him. "Can you get us out of here?" Ron asked.

Kim was already working on the door panel. "Almost as fast as he locked us in here." She tapped her commbadge, then returned to working. "Kim to Shego. Smith lied to us. He's probably headed for the escape pod. Stop him. We'll try to meet you in a minute."

"_You got it, Kimmie._" her friend said.

A short time later, the door hissed open. "The idiot forgot to change the access codes. Amateur." She charged down the corridor, Ron close behind her. They met Shego next to the escape pod, which was still in place, and the green woman verified that he had not been there.

"The pod's empty. I checked it myself."

Seven spoke up. "If he did not come here, then it is fairly safe to assume that he returned to the bridge, possibly in an attempt to take the ship out of the area."

Ron shook his head. "He won't try that with us in here. We've got him outnumbered and outgunned. No; he's got something else in mind. If only I could figure out..." He found himself surrounded by the swirling blue particles of a transporter beam, then on the bridge of _Cerberus_. "...what." he finished, quite annoyed.

Kim whirled around to look at the viewscreen, then saw the freighter – _her_ freighter – accelerating away at full impulse. She snarled. "That's the _second_ time I've had to watch someone fly away with my ship."

"And it shall be the last." Seven reported.

"What do you mean?"

The ex-Borg grinned wide enough to make Shego proud. "It is amazing..." she said, pressing a button on her tricorder. On the viewscreen, an explosion engulfed the engine compartment of the freighter. "...what one can do with a remot-detonated photon grenade with just the right explosive charge."

"Felix," Ron ordered, "pull in close. Lock onto the ship with a tractor beam and bring it into shuttlebay two. Sovak, have a security detail meet us there. I want that bastard in chains."

Sovak punched a few commands into his board, then he looked up. "Captain, an object has exited the ship."

"The escape pod?" Kim asked.

"Negative. It is smaller and exiting from the cargo bay." His concole beeped. "Receiving a transmission."

"Onscreen." Ron and Kim said at the same time.

Smith's face appeared on the viewer. "Well, well, well. It looks like you managed to escape my little trap. But not to worry; rest assured you'll be seeing me again."

"Yeah. At the end of our phasers as we're tossing you in the brig!" Kim snapped.

The man shook his head. "Sorry, love, but that's not part of my plan." He grinned, then said "Ladies, gentlemen, you will forever remember this as the day you _almost_ caught Captain Jack Sparrow." The image winked out, and the tiny ship shot into warp, leaving the _Impossible Dream_ behind.

"I'm going to get him." Kim said coldly. "I'm going to get him, then string him up in the brig and skin him alive, one cell at a time."

"I'm inclined to help, KP. _Nobody_ humiliates _us_ like that and gets off easy. Sovak, bring that ship in. We'll repair it and add it to the fleet." He smiled. "But whenever she's sent out, _Kim_ is going to be her captin. After all, it _is_ her ship."

Kim hugged Ron around the neck. "I _knew_ you were a keeper, loverboy." She kissed him deeply, then broke it off. "I'm going to go down there and supervise. I want to get started right awy." She dashed for the turbolift and disppeared behind its closing doors.

Ron and Shego sat back down in their chairs and Seven took her station. As soon as Felix reported that the small freighter had been secured, Ron ordered their course set for Blue Heaven.

Kim called over the intercom a few minutes later. "_Ron, I found something in the computer. That Sparrow guy was set to receive a _lot_ of money from somewhere, my guess is for trapping us, and was going to go after something he's marked in the computer. It's encrypted and I haven't got it all decoded yet, but it looks like there's some kind of treasure at these coordinates._" She rattled off a series of numbers. "But those coordinates are at the edge of known space, deep in the Gamma Quadrant. Old Dominion territory."

Shego's eyes bugged out. "It can't be."

"Can't be what?" Ron asked her.

"A Klingon legend, one almost as sacred as the Sword of Kahless. It is said that, shortly after shaking off the shackles of the Breen slavers, some of the first free Klingons set out in their ships to explore the galaxy. The ships could barely make Warp Two and were quite dangerous. Most never made it back, and the rest found worlds to colonize, bringing about the beginnings of the Klingon Empire. One ship, however, disappeared for many years and was presumed lost. But it eventually returned, and the crew had not aged a day. They reported a 'tunnel' in space that took them to a place unlike any they'd ever imaged. New planets, new species, and new adventures to be had, but the most striking of all was a paradise world where food was plentiful and they never grew old. They also reported that the age that _had_ accumulated during their voyage seemed to reverse itself, until they were in their physical prime.

"Needless to say, there was a scramble to build newer, faster ships to find this paradise. Some believed that they had discovered a gateway to the afterlife, which would not be called _Sto-Vo-Kor_ for many millenia. Others thought it was a sign from the gods that they had been given a new homeworld. Regardless, every ship that went out returned reporting failure. Even with the original ship's crewmembers guiding them, their navigation technology was so poor that they could never again find this 'tunnel' in space.

"Obviously, there were those who decided that the crewmen were lying about their find, regardless of the fact that half a century had gone by and none had aged or died. The paradisem world became the stuff of legends, and to my knowledge none has actively hunted for it since before the Empire's first encounter with the Federation."

"'Tunnel in space'..." Ron murmered, scratching his chin. "A wormhole?"

Sovak nodded. "That'd be my guess. Kim said those coordinates were in the Gamma Quadrant, and there is a stable wormhole allowing passage to that area of space."

Kim's voice came over the comm system again. "_The only problem is that we'd have to get past _Deep Space Nine_ to get to it, and I doubt that Captain Sisko is just going to let us by. We're in a stolen Federation ship _and_ I almost destroyed half of the Promenade last time I was there._"

Shego smirked. "To be fair, Kimmie, I _told_ you not to play dom-jot with those Nausicaans. They're notorious cheats _and_ don't like being called on it."

Ron called up images of both Tom Riker, now in command of _Chimaera_, and Artak side by side on the viewscreen. "Gentlemen, there is what could amount to the galaxy's most valuable prize within our reach, and our only obstacle is a heavily-armed Federation space station, a _Defiant_-class starship, and potentially other Federation, Bajoran, and Klingon ships in the area. We'll have to drop out of warp as close to the wormhole as we can, then try to either charge through their defenses or, if we have to, shoot our way into the Gamma Quadrant. Are your ships up to it?"

Riker smiled. "And just when I thought it was getting too quiet around here. Count me in."

"I still feel that I owe you a debt for sparing our lives, Captain Stoppable. We are at your disposal."

"Alright, then. Felix, set course, maximum warp. Kim, come back up to the bridge. We'll finish with your ship later."

"_On my way,_" she replied.

Ron smiled at her when she stepped through the turbolift doors a few minutes later. He clasped her hand as she sat down in her chair. "It looks like we've struck the mother lode for pirates, Kim. This is potentially the greatest treasure in the galaxy."

"And it's all ours for the taking." She finished.

"Course plotted, laid in, and relayed to the fleet, sir." Felix said.

"Engage." Ron and Kim said together.

"So," Josh Mankey said, once again sitting at the back table of the dingy tavern, "you failed me, Sparrow."

"Look, you didn't tell me these people were so crafty, mate," the bearded pirate said. "I had no way of knowing that they'd risk destroying that ship to stop me."

"You _should_ have been able to anticipate a contingency. You've gotten _very_ good at executing them, after all." Josh sighed. "Alright; I'll give you _one_ last chance. Once we track them down, I'll give you your chance to earn that pardon again."

Sparrow shook his head. "Oh, this has gone _beyond_ a pardon. Before, it was just business. But these people have insulted me _and_ my legacy. It's _personal_ now, and by the time I'm through with them, they'll know just _how_ personal I can make things."

Damn; that one took longer to write than the last one. I apologize for the long wait in getting it out, but I kind of hit a slump for a while. But, hopefully, I'm past that now and my work will continue at a semi-regular rate. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.


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